


Wilted

by Lonessa



Series: Beautifully Wilted [1]
Category: RWBY
Genre: All stories related to Wilted go in Beautifully Wilted Series, Cinder is a ship sinker, Evil OC's, F/M, I Will Go Down With This Ship, Neo has two personalities, Nyx Peridot is Neo's alias, One is very stabby stabby while the other is adorbs, Pun War Incoming, Sibling Love, Slight Canon Divergence, When people put crack ships in my head I go full speed, bad guys turning good, let the crack shipping begin
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-07-03
Updated: 2017-06-21
Packaged: 2018-07-19 21:37:28
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 23
Words: 125,145
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7378312
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Lonessa/pseuds/Lonessa
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>"Hey, at the very least I made a friend out of it."</p>
<p>Mercury Black, due to a chance meeting, is assigned to get close to Ruby Rose and become a part of her inner circle. It seemed easy enough. The girl was ditsy and trusted easily, and it took him only a couple one on one talks until he was in. What he didn't plan for was actually starting to care for her. With the rest of Team RWBY ready to strike if he breaks the cookie loving huntress's heart and his boss breathing down his neck for intel, Mercury finds himself in an uncomfortable predicament. Stay bad, or turn good? He never thought he would get the choice before, that's for sure.</p>
<p>**Will follow the show as closely as possible**</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. I'm Looking for this Book...

"Well that didn't go terrible."

Mercury predicted Emerald's eye roll before she even completed the act, and her crimson eyes found his dark grey ones. The annoyance from his mere voice was shown clearly in her eyes, and he didn't even bother to stop the instinctive smirk from growing on his face. Seeing as he only became more amused at her sour mood, Emerald turned and went about trying to move the animal carcass on the floor, though she evidently wasn't making much progress.

"You know, if you actually helped this would go a lot quicker."

Instead of doing as Emerald suggested, Mercury leant against one of the bookshelves and starting flipping through one of the many comics that Tukson had in stock. This particular one, X-Ray and Vav, had some cool pictures, so he supposed it would occupy him for a while.

"You're the one that suggested we go do this job. That means you do the heavy lifting."

Emerald growled, "I found the address in Torchwick's sea of paperwork."

Mercury held her fiery gaze with a cool stare, "I killed the guy."

An annoyed groan was his answer, and as she bent over to grab the corpse from under the armpits, Mercury admired Emerald's curves. One thing that was beneficial of this job, he literally had eye candy by his side all day. Score one point to Mercury.

Before she turned to see him staring, he diverted his gaze back to his comic and flipped the page, making an interested face as he saw Emerald glance at him in the corner of his eye. A second later, and the telltale chime of Emerald's semblance reached his ears and all the sudden, there were no pictures in his comic book.

"Now that's just not fair."

"You have better things to do rather than browsing through comics. Let's just get this body into the back and report to Cinder," Emerald ordered sternly.

Mercury rolled his eyes, "You just want to prattle to Cinder about how you did Torchwick's job."

"Damn right I do," Emerald didn't even bother to deny, the partners in crime hoisting the body up and waddling awkwardly to the back of the store. There they unceremoniously dumped the body of the former White Fang member Tukson into the storage room of Tukson's Book Trade.

"Alright, happy now?" Mercury crossed his arms, comic book held between his fingers, "Are the pictures back in my comic?"

"Read to your desire," Emerald flicked her hand up as she rolled her eyes and sauntered to the front of the store, and he followed with an entertained grin as he took in the colorful explosion on the small waxy pages.

The door opened with a chiming of the small bell, and Mercury squinted as the sun's harsh rays beamed into his eyes. Wordlessly, he started walking to the left and heard Emerald following closely, more than likely looking for a gullible target to pickpocket. Mercury kept himself half in tune with the environment to ensure she wouldn't try and pickpocket him.

Vaguely, Mercury registered that the air slowly became sweeter to the smell. Something akin to… roses and strawberries. He furrowed his brows as Emerald made a noise of confusion before shouting his name in alarm, and as he snapped his comic book shut, a red and black blur slammed into his torso before bouncing off and tumbling to the ground.

"Owie…"

Mercury blinked as he recovered from the inconvenience (since all it did really was knock him off balance a bit) and he found himself staring down at a small girl in a red cloak hat dwarfed her frame. She reached a pale hand up to rub her skull gingerly, red and black hair falling into her face. She wore a black corset, combat skirt and combat boots with red soles, and a silver rose emblem was clipped to her belt along with a belt of what looked to be bullets of a high caliber. Emerald nudged his side and he looked to her and shrugged, and with an aggravated face, she mouthed help her up.

"Uh…you might want to watch where you're going," Mercury managed to get out, extending a gloved hand to the girl. Her gaze darted up to his, her eyes the most pure sterling silver he had ever seen in his life. Sheepishly, the girl took his hand and made an embarrassed little laugh, allowing him to pull her to her feet before she hastily let go and began spewing apologies.

"Oh, I'm sorry! I was just running down to try and get this book for my friend and I was distracted and I didn't see you there—"

"Relax," Mercury interjected to make the girl stop her yammering, though a voice in the back of his mind noted she was a cute one, with her childish demeanor and heart shaped face, and he made himself smile, though that was a feat all in itself, "Accidents happen."

"Where were you going to get the book for your friend?" Emerald suddenly cut in, keeping an innocent face but Mercury could tell from her stiff frame that she was concerned. That's when Mercury connected the dots.

The only bookstore around was Tukson's.

"Blake mentioned that she always went to this store called Tukson's, so I'm going there." yup, there it is.

Although seeing Emerald's borderline panicked face was entertaining, Mercury spoke up to the girl, "Oh yeah, we just came from there. I'm sure we can find your friend's book there."

"Oh, that'd be awesome!" She replied, sterling silver shining with happiness. Then, she stuck out a hand, "I-I'm Ruby, by the way."

Without even consciously doing so, Mercury's smile eased into a smirk as he took her hand and shook it, "Mercury. And this here is Emerald."

"Nice to meet you," Ruby smiled before stepping around them both, and Mercury turned to follow.

Emerald however gripped his arm with both hands and yanked him towards her, hissing lowly, "What are you doing? She's going to find the bloodstain!"

"Not if you use your semblance," Mercury countered, shrugging her hand off him before moving to follow the girl. His longer legs caused him to catch up with her easily, and he found it funny that instead of Emerald, he was doing the talking this time, "So, what book does your friend want?"

"Well, she never said specifically, but she's been working herself really hard lately so I thought I'd do something nice for her. I saw in her collection that she really likes this one book, Ninjas of Love, and I'm hoping I can find something related to it."

Mercury's eyebrows raised to his hairline. That book had a very large amount of smut and… well, things that Mercury did not expect someone so young to be reading. Of course, he was basing this 'Blake's' age off of Ruby's, so he may be dead wrong.

"If there is one you can find it there; Tukson claims that his store is home to every book under the sun."

Ruby raised her brows, "Really?"

"Well, technically he doesn't have _all_ books under the sun. False advertising," Mercury shoved his hands into his pockets as he made a tsking noise with his mouth, "What're you gonna do?"

"Oh. Well I have to find something for her. As leader of Team RWBY, it's my job to make sure all my teammates are happy."

That got Emerald's attention, "You're training to be a huntress?"

"Mhm," Ruby turned to nod and smile at Emerald, "I'm going to Beacon with my big sister. We're on the same team together, actually!"

"Oh really?" Mercury quirked a brow, "Wouldn't you two be separated since you're different ages?"

"Well, I'm kind of a special case," Ruby shrugged sheepishly, "Professor Ozpin moved me ahead two years so I could attend Beacon now."

Mercury did the math in his head. The way Ruby was talking, she must have just been accepted, and in extension must be a first year. That placed Ruby at being fifteen. Huh.

"Wow," Emerald pretended to looked genuinely impressed, while Mercury didn't need to pretend, "You must be quite skilled for Ozpin to recognize your potential."

Ruby turned beet red at that, and Mercury found himself thinking of her as adorable as she stuttered, "W-Well I'm n-not that great. B-But thanks for the compliment!"

Now outside the door to the store, Emerald focused her attention on tricking Ruby's mind, and the trio entered. There Mercury saw the bloodstain on the floor in front of the counter, and he smirked when Ruby looked around oblivious to it. His smirk faltered when Ruby began to walk towards the counter, seeing the bell there no doubt, and he quickly tugged on the hood of her cape and led her to the adult fiction.

"I'll help you look over here, Ruby," Mercury stated, letting her regain her footing for a moment before moving his hand from her hood to the small of her back, giving her a surprised look when she jumped a little at the contact. She didn't notice the look, but she did look quite flustered. _Modest girl._

"T-T-Thanks," Ruby stuttered, touching her pointer fingers together as she shuffled her feet. Mercury caught her glancing at him from the corner of his eye, but he didn't call her out on it.

Mercury read over the titles in front of him, trying to hide his almost bored look from the small girl. He huffed a silent laugh as he looked at her; she looked hopelessly lost. She's pretty lucky that he was in a good mood… and that Emerald was with him to keep him from doing anything rash at first meeting.

Not to mention Cinder would be happy to hear that he's already made a 'friend'.

Seeing one title in particular that caught his eye, he pulled out the hardcover book and briefly skimmed the summary on the back, his eyebrows raising to his hairline. Comparing it to the Ninja's of Love novel in his mind, he concluded that this was the golden egg of the basket, and handed it to Ruby.

"I think this one will do your friend good," _Wrong choice of words Merc, but at least you gained the little huntress-in-training's trust._

"You think so?" Ruby made a thinking face, unknowingly puffing her cheeks out as her hands turned the book over so she herself could read the summary. Mercury quickly slapped his hand over it to spare Ruby's innocence.

"I don't think you want to know what your teammate is into," Mercury hinted, keeping his surprise hidden when Ruby merely cocked her head with a confused expression, pouting a little when she realized he wasn't going to elaborate. Mercury spoke again, "I guarantee you she'll love it."

"Okay… well, thanks for helping me out Mercury. I would've probably taken way longer looking for a book without you around," Ruby rubbed the back of her neck with a nervous laugh, glancing over at Emerald, "So… are you two students at one of the academies too? I see that you have dual pistols, and am I wrong to say that you have firing mechanisms in your boots?"

Mercury and Emerald both shared a look of surprise when Ruby pointed out Mercury's boots. Their inner workings were nearly invisible to the naked eye, and even then the bulky heel was camouflaged to look like it was part of the boots design. For Ruby to distinguish them as weapons is no easy feat, and Mercury mentally noted that this girl had an eye for detail.

"Actually, yeah. We're on a team that hails from Haven," Mercury lied, using his knowledge of the next phase to craft a line to feed her, "We were just wandering around Vale to get the basic layout of the city."

"Oh, that's cool! You know, if you guys would like I could show you around the city sometime. Things are pretty quiet around here now that Torchwick is laying low— I-I mean, the Vytal Festival is getting so close! U-Uh…"

Ruby bit her lip and looked off to the side as Mercury made a contemplative frown. Now why was she so skittish upon mentioning Torchwick?

"Isn't Torchwick the guy that is all over the news robbing dust shops in Vale?"

"Um… yeah. But we haven't been able to catch him just yet. We've come close, but…"

"We? So that means you have been trying to apprehend him?" Emerald interjected, masking any deception on her face.

Ruby's hold tightened on the book, and Mercury could tell that she was about to be evasive. It was probably better that they stop pressuring for answers now, since they don't want Little Red to avoid them later.

"We probably shouldn't keep her Emerald, her team is probably getting worried."

"Uh, yeah! I actually didn't tell them that I went out, so they're probably wondering…" Ruby trailed off, "I'll just pay for this—"

"N-No, why don't… Mercury would be happy to pay for it!" Emerald managed, causing Ruby to stop her walk towards the bell again since her path was right in line with Tukson's blood, "He did pick it out after all."

"Yeah… I'll pay. It's no big deal," Mercury added in, walking forward and carefully avoiding the blood by the desk. He leant against it and rang the bell, "This guy takes a while anyway, and we don't want to worry your friends, do we?"

"I…I guess not," Ruby agreed with hesitance, "Well, thanks again for helping me you two. And it was nice meeting you!"

"Nice to meet you too," Emerald smiled.

"Hey, maybe we'll see each other at Beacon," Mercury offered, seeing Ruby smile at him a little while Emerald silently fumed.

"That'd be awesome!" Ruby chirped, "See you around!"

At that, the girl walked out the door before taking a few paces. Emerald and Mercury watched through the darkened window as she crouched down low and then straight up vanished, leaving rose petals in her wake.

Emerald immediately made an aggravated sigh once Ruby was out of sight, and she rubbed her temple, "That girl was way too peppy."

Mercury shrugged, pulling the door open again, "She wasn't that bad. Besides, I got myself a friend at Beacon."

"You just didn't mind it because you liked getting her flustered."

Mercury smirked as he waggled his eyebrows, "Is Emerald getting a little jealous?"

Emerald made a disgusted look and turned on her heel, "Let's just go. If Cinder finds out we're late she'll have our heads."

* * *

"Oh look, she sent the kids again. This is turning out just like the divorce…"

Mercury felt his annoyance zoom up to the very top level as his head was trapped between Torchwick's arm and side and a gloved hand obstructed his view. He heard Emerald make a disgusted noise to his left, and Torchwick released them a moment later, walking forward.

"Spare us the thought of you procreating."

"That was a joke," Torchwick droned, holding a piece of paper between his fingers and showing it with triumph, "And this, just might tell me where you two have been all day."

"What? Uh—"

"I'm a professional criminal sweetheart, pay attention, maybe you'll learn something…" Torchwick replied in one breath, taking an exaggerated pause to read the contents of the slip of paper, and Mercury felt a flair of victory as he cast an annoyed glance at them, "Why do you have this address?"

"Wouldn't you like to know?" Emerald leant forward and pointed with a coy smile, and Mercury kept his gaze trained on the joke of a criminal in front of him, holding in his remark with all his willpower.

"Yeah, I would. Now where have you been all day?"

Oum, he really did try to act like their dad, "Cleaning up _your_ problems… one of them at least."

Torchwick looked like he wanted to lash out at Mercury badly, but instead he kept his anger in - barely, since Mercury could hear the restraint in his voice - and said, "I had that under control."

Mercury retorted quickly, "Two packed bags and a ticket out of Vale said otherwise."

"Listen ya little punk," Torchwick took a menacing step forward, and Mercury rocked back on his heel with a disinterested look, daring the orange haired man to make a move, "If it were up to me I'd take both you and your street rat friend here, and I would—"

" _Do what, Roman?_ "

The silky voice echoed off the warehouse walls and automatically brought a wide smile to both Mercury and Emerald's face, while the color drained from Roman's own. Mercury turned and tilted his head upwards to see the queen herself in her tantalizing red dress and sequined gold glittering along her shoulders. Her glass heels clinked on the ground as she took slow strides forward, standing with regal poise as the elevator descended to the ground.

Roman made a nervous little chuckle, "Ahaha, I'd uh...not kill them?"

"Cinder!" Emerald exclaimed with excitement, walking towards the woman with her arms up. Mercury nearly shook his head at his partner's desperate need for the boss' attention, and merely focused on the carefully contained wrath of Cinder Fall.

"I thought I made it clear that you were to eliminate the would-be runaway?" Cinder began her cutting assault as she made long strides, passing Emerald without even a glance. Emerald tried to hide her disappointment as Cinder passed and put down her hands, and Mercury stepped to her side and bumped her shoulder lightly to snap her out of her puppy dog reverie.

"I was going to!"

"He was going to escape to Vacuo!" Emerald took the chance to gain Cinder's attention, looking to Mercury as she spread her arms and stated their victory like it was an unthinkable feat, "Mercury and I decided it upon ourselves to go and kill the rat."

Mercury frowned. Nah, not a rat per say… "I think he was some sort of cat actually."

"What?" Emerald huffed a silent laugh as she humored his offhanded comment, "Like a puma?"

"Yeah, there ya go."

"Quiet." Uh-oh.

Mercury and Emerald both shot their gazes to the queen and she held their eyes with her scorching gaze, "Did I not specifically instruct you two to keep your hands clean while in Vale?"

Roman was making a laughing face as Cinder scolded them and Mercury frowned harshly at the criminal, a glare in his eyes as Cinder was focused on Emerald, who was trying to form a response, "I just thought—"

"Don't think. Obey."

Mercury couldn't stand Roman's mocking gestures from behind Cinder any longer, and he shrugged as he commented, "Well, I made a friend out of it, so that's something."

Silence erupted from the small meeting and Emerald sent him a look that promised death. Roman had his mouth half open and his cane hanging limply in his hand, giving him a look that was the equivalent to are you serious, while Cinder narrowed her golden eyes at him and began to reply lowly and dangerously.

"I would hope that you would know not to waste my time with this piece of information, Mercury."

"It's not a waste, ma'am. This friend actually happens to be a huntress in training at Beacon academy, and I believe Mister Professional Criminal over there has become acquainted with her."

"What are you talking about?" Torchwick growled.

"Does the name Ruby ring a bell?"

"I don't usually ask for the name of someone who is trying to kill me, so you may want to reword that question."

Mercury crossed his arms, "Well how about a short girl with silver eyes and a huge red cloak?"

"Oh, but of course! Out of all the huntresses you just had to run into Red!"

Cinder seemed to hold some remembrance for the girl as well, "That sounds like the girl that was present with that blonde huntress at _From Dust Till Dawn, _is it not?"__

__"Yes, that would be Red," Torchwick shook his head as he continued, "The little pest foiled a robbery, and later her friends attacked me when I was out moving dust."_ _

__"It would seem then that something useful can be scrounged up from this disobedience," Cinder turned back to Mercury, "With what Roman is saying, then this Ruby is a threat to our plan. A rather small threat, but a threat nonetheless. You say that you have gained her friendship, Mercury?"_ _

__"Yes ma'am. She's pretty ditzy, and I can tell she trusts easy."_ _

__"Very well. Monitor her actions Mercury, and try to become a part of her inner circle of friends if possible. Report anything of interest to me at once. The rest of the plan is unchanged."_ _

__As Cinder turned to harshly question Torchwick, Mercury suddenly didn't feel all too happy with how this turned out. Socializing is not Mercury's mojo, and he usually left that requirement to Emerald. But since Cinder asked him specifically, he had to obey._ _

__This wasn't going to end well._ _


	2. Stealing the Spotlight

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Mercury meets the rest of the gang (plus Sun and Neptune)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Also posted on fanfiction.net

Mercury was completely and utterly lost.

Once he arrived at Beacon with Cinder and Emerald, Cinder had strode off with Emerald lugging all their luggage behind her, trailing after the seductress like a lost puppy. Mercury personally wasn't looking forward to sharing a room with three girls that would find no remorse in ending his life if he pissed them off for the next couple of weeks, so he decided to wander around the academy before submitting to his fate and finding their room.

If only Beacon wasn't a maze of twists and turns, he could actually find said room.

It became apparent after passing the same doors for the fifth time that he wasn't going to find his room anytime soon. Deciding to just wander some more, he opened the doors to find a library. He just about turned face and immediately went in the other direction, but a voice that echoed from off to the right stopped him. He knew who that was…

He began walking off to the side, shoving his hands into his pockets and spotted a table with four girls sitting in chairs by it, as well as another group of kids on the long table behind it, and two boys talking to the girls at the table. He spotted Ruby immediately, and he walked forward a bit before announcing himself.

Once his clunking boots could be heard, Ruby blinked before glancing over, silver eyes widening before she smiled widely and waved, "Hey! I didn't think I'd see you again this soon."

Mercury shrugged as he walked up to the table, all eyes now on him as he stopped right by Ruby's chair, "Eh, I was wandering and I heard you talking, so here I am," His eyes moved to the others at the table, noting that the busty blonde right across from her was darting her gaze between Ruby and himself, "Who are your friends?"

"Oh, right! Guys, this is Mercury. I met him yesterday when I was in the city. The other three girls are on my team. This is Weiss, that's my sister Yang, and that's Blake," Ruby pointed to each girl as she introduced them.

"Hello Mercury. Nice to meet you," Weiss bobbed her head once before returning her gaze to the blue haired boy beside her.

"You're here for the Vytal Festival?" Yang questioned.

"Yeah, me and my team. We're competing," Mercury answered, eyes turning to Blake then. The bow on top of her head twitched a little and he hid his surprise. Faunus.

"So, how'd you like the book Ruby got you, Blake?"

"How'd you know Ruby got her anything?" Yang cut in abruptly.

"Yang," Ruby growled suddenly, eyes narrowing at the blonde. Yang merely smirked and winked at the younger girl, clasping her hands together.

"Sup man," The monkey faunus greeted with a grin, "I'm Sun. And the nerd over there is Neptune."

_"Intellectual,"_ the blue haired boy, Neptune, interjected before greeting Mercury, "Hey. So where's the rest of your team?"

"At our dorm," Mercury leaned a little to spy a blonde haired boy with blue eyes, "And you are…?"

"Jaune Arc," He replied before gesturing to his friends, "And this is my partner Pyrrha. That's Ren, and the girl sleeping is Nora."

"PANCAKES!" The sleeping girl awoke from her slumber at her name being called, blinking a few times before flopping heavily on the table yet again, and Ren sighed as he pat her head affectionately.

Although amusing, Mercury would rather not meet and greet with half of Beacon altogether, and turned his attention back to the little redhead next to him. It would seem that Ruby and Yang have gotten into this staring contest while he had been distracted, and the longer the staring progressed, the redder Ruby's face became. After a moment, Mercury risked waving his hand in front of the two, wondering just how odd this group could get.

Like being snapped from a trance, Ruby's eyes fluttered and she looked up at him, a blush dusting her cheeks, "Oh, uh. So did you find your dorm without much trouble?"

Mercury shrugged, not really wanting to admit that he's been lost in Beacon's hallways for the past half hour, "For the most part."

Blake, who had been roped into her own one sided conversation with Sun, stood from her chair and left then, which drew everyone's attention to her retreating form. Sun raised his hands as if to say, _I don't know what I did wrong,_ and after a moment's silence, Nora grumbled, " _Women._ "

"Should we go after her?" Ruby asked after a moment.

"Let's just give her some time to sort her thoughts. Besides, we have a game to complete," Weiss turned back to her deck of cards.

"Well… we don't have four players now."

"Hmm… how about you, Mercury?" Yang asked the silver haired teen, "You in?"

Mercury took a second to take in the board game laid out on the table, before taking Blake's now unoccupied seat, _"Conquering Remnant?"_

"Yup. You'll be playing as Vale, since that was what Blake was. I'm Mistral, Weiss is Vacuo, and Ruby is Atlas," Yang listed, "Do you know how to play?"

Picking up the cards for Vale, Mercury said, "I'll figure it out as I go."

"Alright," Yang cracked her knuckles, "Prepare to be crushed."

Seeing Mercury's doubtful look, Ruby added, "Yang has crazy luck when she plays this game. And I'm not quite convinced enough to say she doesn't cheat…"

Yang gasped, "How dare you insinuate that I am not a genuine master at this game!"

"Oh I'll dare all I want Xiao Long."

"Oh yeah? Well bring it on, Rose!" Yang bellowed, "Hit me with the meager remnants of your army!"

Mercury cast an odd look between the two sisters, and Weiss went to explain, "Yang and Ruby have different last names."

"Why's that?"

"Technically we're half sisters since we have different mothers, and I just kept my mother's maiden name," Ruby shrugged as she picked up her cards, Yang drumming her fingers on the table.

"Alright, your move, Mercury!" Yang shouted, much to the rest of the library residents chagrin.

Mercury found himself cracking a smirk that was a little more genuine than before, and a small part of him admitted that it was almost… fun, talking with these kids. But he shook that thought away.

He had Remnant to conquer after all.

* * *

"I can't believe it!" Yang moaned as she trailed after her younger sister, "He _must've_ cheated."

"Yang, you're being a sore loser," Ruby tisked, chuckling a little as the blonde fumed.

"We should have never let him play!"

"You're the one that invited him to play in the first place, you do realize that right?" Weiss raised a brow as she checked something on her scroll, keeping stride with Ruby.

"I know, I just don't get how he predicted my every move!"

"Maybe he's the leader of his team?" Ruby proposed, hands balled on her hips, "All I know is that he definitely didn't cheat. He beat you fair and square."

Yang groaned in annoyance and brought her long hair in front of her to play with idly as they walked. Not long after Mercury's total annihilation of all opposing fleets, Team JNPR retreated to their dorm and Sun and Neptune went off… somewhere. Ruby, Weiss and Yang stayed for a little while with Mercury to talk a little, and after Mercury quietly admitted that he still didn't know where his dorm was to Ruby, she gave him directions before heading off to her own dorm. As evidently shown, Yang still had not recovered from the defeat and was still insisting that Mercury withheld a few cards to ensure his victory.

However, once Yang adopted a sly look instead of her 'sore loser face' as Ruby dubbed it, the young team leader began to feel a little nervous.

"So, sis… what do you think of Mercury?"

A little thrown off by the abruptness of the question, Ruby responded hesitantly, "He's pretty nice. I mean, we met by me literally running into him at full speed and he still helped me find a gift for Blake. I think he'll turn out to be a pretty good friend."

"Good… _friend,_ " Yang made an exaggerated thinking face, and Ruby heard Weiss snicker quietly to herself. That caused alarm bells to start ringing. Weiss never laughed.

"Why are you snickering?"

Weiss adopted a look of innocence, "I did what?"

"You snickered! You never snicker!"

"I can't possibly imagine what you are saying Ruby. I did no such thing."

"Now you're playing coy!"

"I have to agree with the Ice Queen sis. I heard no such snicker," Yang said with a full blown smile.

"Okay, you're not even trying to hide your smile! What is going on? What am I not getting?!" Ruby questioned animatedly, darting her gaze between Weiss and Yang.

"Oh, Ruby Ruby Ruby, what will I ever do with your introverted brain?" Yang slung an arm around Ruby's shoulders, waiting patiently by their dorm's door as Weiss took out her passkey, "I just need to spell every last thing out to you!"

_"Yang just tell me!"_

"I'm just _suggesting_ that you might possibly probably have a tiny little crush on the new resident hunter in training, that's all!" Yang threw up her arms as if it wasn't a big deal and sauntered into the room, Ruby close on her heels.

"I-It's not like that! Besides, I just met Mercury yesterday! No one can develop a crush _that_ quick!" Ruby stuttered, her face automatically going beet red at the mere suggestion.

"Well, you can still find someone cute right off the bat. So, do you think he's cute?"

"What?!"

"Oooh, so you think he's hot! I don't blame you, he's quite the looker."

_"Yaaaaaang!"_

Yang sent Ruby a knowing look when Ruby didn't deny her accusations, and Ruby flipped the hood of her cloak up to hide her face, turning away with a huff.

Whatever pestering Yang was going to commence was quickly interrupted when Weiss turned on her heel and pointed directly to the cat faunus that was attempting to leave the room, "Stop. Lately you have been quiet, antisocial, and moody."

"Uh… have you met Blake?" Yang commented with a slight grin. Ruby would normally agree, but she had to admit that Blake has been acting more morose than normal. The incident involving Blake leaving the table shortly after Mercury arrived was not an isolated incident, and wherever fun and lightheartedness lingered, save for the epic food fight earlier, Blake would find a reason to flee. Blake hadn't even picked up the book she had gifted to her, which was quite a surprise to Ruby, but she decided not to push it since she did only give the gift to her yesterday.

Ruby supposed this was the time to directly confront Blake about her behavior.

"Which I get is kind of 'your thing'," Weiss continued, not faltered by Yang's interjection, "But you've been doing it more often lately, which is quite frankly unacceptable. You made a promise to me, to all of us, that you would let us know that something was wrong."

Then, with a change in her calm tone, Weiss gained a determined look in her eye, "So, Blake Belladonna," She jumped into the air, flipping as she readied to strike, "What," She began her pursuit toward her target, "is," and then, with an uncanny accuracy, landed her leap and jabbed a pointer finger to Blake's chest, " _wrong?_ "

A stunned silence enveloped the group as Weiss balanced precariously on the wooden chair, wobbling from left to right while not taking her eyes off of her target. And then, with a speed that made Ruby proud, jumped to the ground and moved the chair to its proper place and darted back to her original spot on the floor, all the while keeping her natural grace with all three pairs of eyes staring dumbly at her.

Well. That was a thing.

"I…I just don't get how everyone can be so calm."

Ruby deflated. The White Fang. She should have seen this coming, since Blake was always so involved in their activities or their location, and it seemed that this problem has been festering for some time, "You're still thinking about Torchwick and the White Fang?"

"Something big is happening and nobody is doing anything about it!"

"Ozpin told us not to worry," Yang tried to calm her partner, "Between the police and the huntsman I'm sure they can handle it—"

"Well I'm not!" Blake exclaimed, "They don't know the White Fang like I do!"

"Okay," Weiss put out her hands, stopping any further comments for a moment, "Between blowing up nightclubs," A glance directed at Yang, "Stopping thieves," Ruby, "And fighting for freedom," A look at Blake, "I'm sure that all three of you think you're ready to go out and apprehend these nardules."

Yeah, Ruby had no clue what that was, but she was just going to assume Weiss meant criminal.

Everything aside, Blake had a point. Ruby hated to admit it, but whoever was calling the shots had to be clever to get this far along, and Ruby wasn't oblivious to what exactly Torchwick was causing to the dust market. It was getting more and more expensive to ensure that she had enough dust rounds for her baby Crescent Rose, that's for sure, and the longer they wait, the more time Torchwick has to build up his defense and solidify his plans. With that, and keeping half an ear in the group discussion, Ruby made a decision.

"Okay," Ruby began on a calm note, but then began to talk rapidly, "All in favor of becoming the youngest Huntresses to single-handedly bringing down a corrupt organization conspiring against the Kingdom of Vale, say aye."

" _Yes!_ I love it when you're feisty!"

"Well… I suppose it could be fun."

After a huge gasp of air, Ruby registered her teammates responses. She pouted a little, "None of you said aye."

"Alright. Then we're all in this together," Blake announced, a genuine smile lighting up her face.

Ruby nodded, "Then let's hatch a plan."

_"Yeah!"_

Ruby grinned widely at her team before remembering something. She made a horrified gasp, her hands making fists, "I left my board game in the library!"

Weiss sighed, "We're doomed."

"I'll be right back!" Ruby hurried out the door, looking back as she told her teammates to wait. Alas, she turned too late and ran face first into a solid body, flying backwards to the ground for the second time in two days.

"Ugh, I'm sorry! Are you okay?" Ruby asked as she rubbed the back of her head, and a gloved hand came into view.

"We really have to stop running into each other like this."

Ruby flinched a little and she darted her gaze up to meet Mercury's. She made an awkward little chuckle and took his hand, noticing that he had the board game tucked under his arm, "Sorry about that Mercury. Me and my team, uh—"

"It's fine, Ruby," Mercury smirked as he handed the board game to the short girl, "I noticed you forgot this on the way out."

"Oh. Thanks!" Ruby began to back towards her dorm, "Well, I guess I'll—"

"Hey, by the way…" Mercury sauntered forward yet again, _"Aye."_

Ruby blinked, mind slowly processing the word and connecting the dots. In the end, she could only muster one word quick enough, "…oh."

* * *

Moments earlier…

Mercury strolled the halls with the board game Conquering Remnant tucked under his arm as he followed after a flowing red cape that would vanish just as he turned every corner. While it was amusing to interact with the rambunctious trio (well, Ruby and Yang were rambunctious while Weiss was just snooty and uptight), he worked much better when merely eavesdropping. He didn't hear anything of real interest as he trailed after them. Yang seemed dead set on thinking Mercury had cheated in the game while Ruby was trying to defend that he most definitely was not. He tuned out most of the conversation, hearing his name mentioned a few times, and entertained the thought that his charm made him become the star topic of Team RWBY's conversations.

Once he heard their footsteps cease, he stopped just around the corner and peeked around, seeing Yang sling an arm around the young team leader.

"… _suggesting_ that you might possibly probably have a tiny little crush on the new resident hunter in training, that's all!" He heard the end of Yang's sentence, his eyebrows rising once Ruby began stuttering and her cheeks slowly became redder and redder. Huh.

The stuttering continued when the girls ventured inside their dorm, and Mercury moved toward the door before leaning against the wall, pretending to study the contents of the box as he overheard the group conversation.

As he listened in, Cinder contacted him via his scroll (not the school scroll provided to provide their cover but his own personal scroll).

_Queen: {Butcher, report}_

_Butcher: {Outside Red Riding Hood's quarters. They are discussing the Candle}_

_Queen: {Should we be concerned?}_

Mercury listened for a moment, hearing the cat faunus rant about their enemy, and he responded promptly.

_Butcher: {It would seem that the Kitty Cat is rallying to search for the Candle}_

Cinder didn't respond for a moment, more than likely concocting a plan in her devious mind, and Mercury waited patiently, listening to Ruby say the most words he had ever heard in a single breath. It would seem that Ruby jumped on board Blake's thought process and wanted to look for Torchwick and the White Fang as well. Not good.

_Butcher: {Red Riding Hood is ready to start searching. Goldilocks, Snow White and Kitty Cat are all on board}_

_Queen: {Assist Little Red on her small journey. Report back anything interesting you uncover to the Thief.}_

_Butcher: {What about the Candle? They might attempt to fight}_

_Queen: {Then fight alongside them as if you were one of them. Ice Cream is with the Candle}_

Ah. That explained Cinder's uncaring response. He pocketed his scroll and backed up a few paces once he heard Ruby mention her board game, waiting for the young girl to rocket out of her dorm and more than likely run right into him yet again. Sure enough, Little Red ran out a moment later, calling something back to her teammates before running face first into his torso. He of course didn't move an inch, while the smaller girl bounced off and to the ground just as before, rubbing her head and squeaking out an apology.

Mercury couldn't withhold his smirk. If anything, Ruby made things a lot more amusing than they were before.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Happy writing to all!
> 
> Lonessa out.


	3. The More The Merrier

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Team RWBY, Mercury, Neptune and Sun begin their little detective mission

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Not so sure about the Weiss/Neptune tag anymore. Might change it to Yang/Neptune

Mercury had returned to the girl's dorm a little later than the expected time, but he didn't particularly care about punctuality. Apparently he wasn't the only one to invite himself into Team RWBY's inner circle, since the two boys from the library, Sun and Neptune, were standing by Blake and Yang respectively.

"Mercury, you made it!" Ruby exclaimed, beckoning him over with a frantic wave of her hand. Mercury smirked and nodded to the rest of the crew present, not missing how Yang sent Ruby a look that said _I know why he's really here_ and Ruby promptly went beet red yet again.

"Hey Ruby. Everyone," Mercury nodded in greeting, "What's the plan?"

"Hold on. Why is _he_ here?" Weiss pointed a manicured finger to the new arrival.

"Mercury asked to join in before, and I said yes," Ruby shrugged, "I mean, the more people there are the better chance we'll find something, right?"

Weiss didn't look convinced, but she crossed her arms and said nothing more.

"Well, I guess since Mercury here isn't a Faunus, and I don't have room for three on my motorcycle, then he can go with Ruby and Weiss," Yang concluded, nudging her sister subtly with her elbow. Ruby glared but said nothing against the suggestion.

Weiss tried to make an excuse for Neptune to accompany her instead of Mercury, but Ruby merely laughed it off and dragged the two members of her party out of the dorm, Weiss by her collar and Mercury by his hand. Mercury examined her determined face and realized after a moment that the lithe redhead was actually… _angered_ at Weiss' attempt to switch Mercury from their group.

Being a guy in his teenage years (specifically, his last teenage year), he saw opportunity in this. Ruby was rather… cute to look at, and she had a nice body underneath the large cloak and combat skirt. And Cinder never specified how exactly Mercury had to situate himself as a part of Ruby's inner circle…

Withholding a large smirk, he untangled his wrist from Ruby's grip before snaking an arm around the girl's shoulders, seeing her jump a little at the contact before relaxing. Her cheeks still stayed the brightest red imaginable, and a thrill ran up Mercury's spine at how easily this girl blushed in his presence.

Oh, he was going to have _fun_ with this.

"So, where exactly are we going, Little Red?" Mercury asked Ruby, leaning a little closer with a flirty look, completely ignoring the Ice Queen who now walked on her own.

"U-Uhm… the CCT. W-Weiss is going to ask for some files from her family's company."

"Ah. Schnee Dust Company." That made sense, though he wasn't particularly sure that Weiss would find much from them. The White Fang isn't the ringleader of this operation, that's for sure.

"How did you know that?" Weiss cut in, not oblivious to how Mercury has pulled Ruby close to him.

"Please, the Schnee's have to be known by anyone that doesn't live under a rock. I tagged you as the heiress of the company the moment I spotted you," Mercury retorted with his natural confidence, eyes flickering to Ruby from time to time.

She narrowed her eyes at the silver haired boy, a small bout of protectiveness rising up. Although she knew Ruby could handle herself well in a combat situation, Weiss knew that Ruby was rather socially inept and didn't know how to deal with some situations. The sudden arrival of a charming man who has taken an interest in her would be one of said situations. Weiss wasn't sure how to warn her about Mercury, and Yang evidently hasn't tried to as of yet, only teasing Ruby about it. Perhaps Weiss should talk with Yang and Blake later about this development.

As the trio began to walk towards the shuttles preparing for another departure to Beacon, Mercury spied a bob of mint green hair striding over to the airship from the left pathway that just happened to connect with the pathway they were walking. Nudging Ruby to get her attention, Mercury jutted his head over to where his partner was walking, and Ruby smiled before calling, "Hey Emerald!"

Emerald spotted them immediately and met them halfway, raising a questioning eyebrow at the proximity him and Ruby were at currently. Mercury merely winked and wiggled his eyebrows, which was promptly ignored by the thief.

"Oh, hey Ruby!" She exclaimed with false enthusiasm, "I see you've kidnapped Mercury for the day."

"W-Well he offered to come along…" Ruby stuttered, her awkward tendency in social situations rising. Weiss rolled her eyes.

"I'm Weiss Schnee, Ruby's partner. It's a pleasure to meet you," The heiress held out a hand which Emerald shook firmly.

"Emerald Sustrai. Mercury's my partner but I've learned to share," Emerald chuckled to herself before turning to Mercury, "Oh, but before you go Mercury, Cinder wanted to speak to you when you have the time."

Mercury nodded slowly, realizing that _when you have the time_ translated to _after Ruby and co. venture back to Beacon_ , and replied, "Tell her I'll find her as soon as I'm free."

"Well, I guess I should let you three go then," Emerald smiled again, "Nice seeing you again, Ruby."

"See you around!" Ruby called as the thief turned and marched back to the dorms for transfer students, "Alright, let's go team!"

Mercury watched as Ruby suddenly disappeared in a whirlwind of rose petals, and Weiss gasped before screeching Ruby's name and sprinting as fast as she can with the aid of her glyphs. He shook his head at the rambunctious redhead, before frowning in realization that he was smiling fondly after the girl. Slapping himself gently on the face, he huffed and followed after with a long stride.

What was that all about?

* * *

As the trio neared the CCT, Ruby had to resist rolling her eyes as Weiss took the opportunity to show her knowledge concerning Atlas' production of the tower. Ruby couldn't help but glance at Mercury, who still had an arm securely wrapped around her, but he looked to be lost in thought, looking around with a glazed look in his eye. Either that, or he was blatantly ignoring Weiss. She wouldn't blame him if he was actually doing that.

She didn't know what to think of Mercury at this point. He had no reason to offer his assistance to her on both counts of merely finding a book and tracking down Torchwick, but he seemed adamant on sticking by her side. Proof enough was when he threw his arm around her shoulders once again as soon as he caught up with her at the Bullhead. And if Ruby was completely honest, she didn't mind the invasion of her personal bubble as much as she probably should have.

Ruby heard Weiss ending her small lecture concerning the Great War, and Ruby took the opportunity to mock the heiress for a moment, _"Ooh, look at me! I'm Weiss, I know facts, I'm rich!"_ Ruby held both hands up to cover the cackles of laughter erupting from her mouth at her own joke, the laughter increasing once she realized Mercury's chest was shaking in silent chuckles as well.

Weiss however did not look amused, "Don't be a pest. Besides, the only reason we're here is because you like the tower so much! We could have just as easily made a call from the library."

"I know, but it's just so cool! Oh, I'm going to take a picture!" Ruby exclaimed, fumbling her scroll until it fell from her hands and bounced along the grey tiled ground. Ruby, Weiss, and Mercury all watched as it bounced to rest right in front of black booted feet, and the owner of the boots bent down to pick up the scroll.

"Oh. You dropped this."

Ruby took a moment to process the ginger colored hair wrapped in a pink bow, and the pale green eyes that blinked innocently at her. Unthinkingly, Ruby stepped out of Mercury's hold and towards the freckled teen, eyes wide with surprise, "Penny?!"

"Uh—"

"Where have you been? We haven't seen you since that night at the docks!"

"Uh, I'm sorry, you seem to be confused. Hic!" Penny jolted, the scroll falling out of her hands and into Ruby's, and the ginger haired girl made haste in turning around and walking down the steps leading away from the tower.

"What was that all about?" Weiss questioned with an odd look towards the retreating back of Penny.

"I don't know," Ruby replied, a determined look passing across her face, "But I'm going to find out. You go make your call, I'll catch up with you later!"

"Hey, wait!...ugh," Weiss held out a hand before shaking her head in annoyance. She turned to Mercury, who had stayed silent during the interaction, "Can you go after her to make sure she doesn't get into any trouble? The last time she ran into Penny she ended up with a severely damaged aura."

"Sure, no problem," Mercury replied with ease, "Meet up with you later."

Mercury strolled away from the Schnee heiress with barely restrained relief. It was hard not to mouth off to the Ice Queen, since the only types of replies that come out of Weiss' mouth are either insults or a factual remark to show her intelligence. He walked down the stairs, spying Ruby in front of Penny with a near desperate look on her face, and it unnerved Mercury to see her with that look. He shook it off before closing the distance between himself and the two girls, seeing Penny lean close to Ruby and say in a hushed voice, "It isn't safe to talk here."

"Mind if I tag along?" Mercury announced his arrival, seeing Penny hiccup yet again as she turned to look at him. Ruby placed a hand on her friend's shoulder.

"Penny, it's okay. Mercury is a friend of mine. You can trust him."

"I...okay," Penny nodded before walking in a different direction, beckoning the duo to follow.

"Come on," Ruby began to tug at Mercury's fingers to get him to walk again, and he smirked a little before obeying.

They ended up walking farther away from the CCT than he expected they would, and the ginger haired girl seemed to be looking around anxiously with every step she took. He didn't really pay attention, since neither Ruby nor Penny was talking, and Ruby instead found herself mesmerized by General Ironwood's new robotic creations. Mercury was amused by her awe towards the mechanical marvels, but withheld a scoff as the unsuspecting general brandished the Paladin with an exaggerated gesture with his arm, and he thought idly, _yes, thank you for indirectly supplying Cinder's arsenal, General._

"Uhm, Ruby. We should go…"

Penny's nervous interjection went unnoticed by Ruby, and Mercury narrowed his eyes as he looked between Penny and the two human soldiers that pointed to her. Wordlessly, Penny turned and bolted across the street and down the alley, leaving Ruby and Mercury behind.

"What the— where are you going?!" Ruby called before running after Penny, "Come on, Mercury!"

Annoyance flickered a bit before Mercury followed after, keeping himself a few strides behind Ruby, and turned his head to see the soldiers close behind. He looked ahead to see scaffolding holding numerous boxes, and he quickly formulated a plan.

"Ruby, take out the scaffolding! I can jump over!" Mercury ordered loud enough for Ruby to hear, and she replied by taking out her weapon.

He was a little curious as to what a small girl such as herself would be carrying to fight monsters, and watched as the folded up red and black weapon quickly extended until it was a _huge_ scythe with what looked to be the scope of a sniper rifle attached to the long handle, and Mercury's eyes widened comically. _Holy—_

The blade of the scythe cut cleanly through the support struts of the scaffolding, and Mercury shot his greaves into the ground and propelled himself upwards, keeping his body rigidly straight as he went upwards. As gravity took hold, he rolled forward in the air before landing solidly on the ground and darting off yet again, looking to Ruby just in time to see her fold up her weapon and place it on her back yet again.

_"Badass,"_ He commented with a genuine smile, and Ruby smiled back sheepishly.

Ruby's eyes turned back to the girl running in front of them, and Mercury frowned as she made a contemplative look. Right when he was about to say something, she jumped and ran along the wall before dashing forward and wrapping her arms around Penny's waist, the scent of roses invading his nostrils as rose petals floated in her wake. He heard her say something to Penny before she craned her neck to look ahead, narrowed her eyes, and flew.

Mercury blinked, his jaw dropping open slightly as he slowed and processed Ruby's pure speed. Even he couldn't go that fast. It must be her semblance. But where are the rose petals coming from?

Shaking away the question, he sprinted off after the two and turned to corner to see Ruby drop Penny before stumbling and rolling to a stop… right on the street.

"Ruby!" Mercury called as his pace quickened. Penny was rising to her feet, but he heard the truck approaching despite not being able to see it. Ruby got to her feet and turned to stare in shock at the approaching vehicle, and as Mercury got closer, Penny pushed Ruby behind her and held out her hands, as if she could stop it.

Mercury scoffed before focusing on the lithe redhead, who still looked to be in shock. He couldn't care less about the ginger haired girl, but if Ruby died, not only would Cinder be displeased, but he would have a group of mourning and angry girls accusing him for not helping.

He finally made it to the street and scooped Ruby up before jumping to the other side of the road, ignoring Ruby's small _eep_ of protest.

"Ruby, you okay?" He asked with a hint of urgency in his voice.

Ruby blinked as she stared back before darting her gaze to Penny, "No!"

Mercury turned as a large crash sounded and Ruby gasped audibly, her fingers curling tightly around his shoulders. He expected to see the mangled body of Penny, but what he saw was very different.

The girl stopped the truck with her _bare hands_. And she even stuttered out a worried question to the man driving the truck.

And that's when he saw it. Small, barely noticeable shimmers that is the result of sunlight hitting metal. She hid her exposed metallic palms by curling her hands into fists, but Mercury saw. She either had prosthetics, or she was one of Ironwood's pet projects. Judging by how adamantly those soldiers were chasing after her, he would guess the latter.

"P-Penny?" The girl in his arms squeaked, drawing his gaze to her. Her eyes were wide and disbelieving and her mouth was hanging open, eyebrows shooting straight to her hairline.

"Uh-Uhm…" Penny looked around, seeing the crowd gathering due to her impossible feat, and broke into another sprint down the alleyway Mercury was standing in front of, and she knocked into his shoulder. As he stumbled, he nearly dropped Ruby, but he kept his balance and stood upright again while watching the girl retreat.

"I need to go after her," Ruby said in determination, wiggling out of his grip and using her semblance to catch up to the girl.

"What the— Ruby, _wait!_ " Mercury called to no avail, and he sighed in annoyance before looking at the soldiers trying to weave through the crowd. They broke through the last of the people, and instinctively he faked an unknowing look as he surged forward and slammed right into the side of one, causing him to tumble into his friend.

Mercury then faked annoyance before glaring down at the soldiers, "Hey, watch where you're going! Just because you're in the military doesn't mean you can shove people as you please."

The soldier stood quickly before mumbling a 'sorry sir' and bolting down the alleyway. Mercury rolled his eyes before running after them at a slower pace. Once he was out of view of the growing crowd, he used his boots to propel himself up onto one of the rooftops and followed after them with less caution.

Mercury crouched down low as he peered down and saw the soldiers shuffling Penny away as they kept one hand on her shoulder, and Mercury frowned. _Ironwood sure is protective over his pet projects._

The dumpster down below rattled and a muffled squeal emitted from it, and Mercury smirked a little before jumping down to the ground.

Slowly, he meandered over to the rusted thing, and placed one hand on the lid. He waited a moment before tearing the lid off and demanding, _"Who's in here?!"_

_"Ahh!"_ Ruby fell back as her silver eyes went wide at the sudden booming voice. Mercury began laughing hysterically as she realized who it was and pouted, crossing her arms, "Th-That's not funny, Mercury!"

Mercury calmed himself before peering down into the dumpster at the small girl, "It was a little funny."

"You're a big meanie and if I felt like it I would kick your butt, Mercury!" Ruby exclaimed, squeaking a little as Mercury smirked and hoisted her out of the dumpster.

"Well, I would rebuke that and say I would kick your butt, but it seems someone has already taken you out to the trash," Mercury smirked.

Ruby gasped, flailing her legs as he held her up to eye level by her waist, "No, not you too! That was so _bad._ "

"Are you saying that that pun was _garbage?"_

_"Mercury!"_

He laughed again at her flustered look before setting her down gently and holding out his hands, "Alright alright, I'll stop."

Ruby glared at him a moment longer before sighing and rolling her eyes, "You and Yang will get along just fine with you horrendous ways with puns."

"Well then I guess we'll have to collaborate to see who's the better pun master," Mercury replied smoothly, huffing a laugh when Ruby slapped her forehead and groaned, "Aw, come on Ruby, it should be _punny._ "

Ruby growled lowly as her eyes narrowed into slits.

"Okay, _fine._ I'm done for real this time," Mercury moved on from mildly torturing Ruby and instead faked a look of curiosity, "So what did you find out about Penny?"

"O-Oh, right. Penny…" Ruby stammered nervously, eyes sliding away from the silver haired boy, "Well...I kind of promised I wouldn't tell anyone. It's a really, _really_ big secret, and even though I trust you Mercury, I don't know if Penny will appreciate me telling you," Ruby looked at her feet, rubbing the back of her neck, "I'm sorry."

That only confirmed Mercury's guess, and he made a mental note to tell Cinder of the little robot walking around Beacon before addressing Ruby with an understanding look, "Eh, it's fine. It's not any of my business anyway."

Ruby went to respond only for her scroll to begin ringing with urgency, and she retrieved it from her pocket to look at the caller, "Huh. Blake's calling the group chat. I'll put her on speaker."

Ruby typed a few commands into her scroll, and suddenly, Blake's voice burst through the speakers, an underlying tone of panic in her voice.

_"Everyone, we need-"_

_"HEEEELLLP!"_ Sun interrupted, his shrill tone causing Ruby and Mercury to clutch at their ears, _"They got a robot, and it's big, REALLY big!"_

Ruby looked to Mercury as he resisted chuckling at Sun's predicament. He met Ruby's eyes and shrugged, "Sounds like they're getting all the fun."

_"That Torchwick guy's in it! But...like it-it didn't EAT him, he's like controlling it or something!"_ Sun continued hurriedly.

_"Where are you guys?"_ Yang's voice came over the scroll.

_"HURRYYYYYY!"_

Neptune spoke after a moment, no doubt with Yang, _"I think that was them."_

_"Yeah, I got it!"_

"I don't wanna miss this!" Ruby exclaimed before looping her arm through his and activating her semblance, "Come on Mercury!"

Mercury suddenly didn't feel so confident now, and he stammered, "W-Woah, hold on a second Ru _byyyyyy!_ "

His voiced echoed across Vale as Ruby tugged him along towards the battle.


	4. Team RWBBY

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Team RWBY and Merc execute some awesome team attacks!

By the time Ruby stopped her mad dash for the action, Mercury had closed his eyes and tried to make himself as small as possible to avoid throwing up. How did Ruby's stomach not do flips when she's going this fast? Mercury never got queasy due to being on something that was moving at a fast pace, but this girl managed to make him go completely green.

As Ruby slowed, Mercury stumbled and the sudden halt in inertia tore him from her grip, and he was sent tumbling a couple feet in front of her.

"Oh! I'm sorry Mercury!" Ruby rushed over and knelt beside him, supporting him by placing a hand on his upper back, "Are you hurt?"

Mercury shook his head dazedly before blinking hard to reorient himself, and he looked over to see a blurry and bobbing Ruby in front of him with a concerned expression. Well, that isn't good…

"Just give me a minute," Mercury rubbed his forehead before planting his feet on solid ground and standing slowly, ignoring Ruby's fretting, "And next time you decide to drag me across the city, at least warn me first."

"Ah… right," Ruby nodded awkwardly, touching her pointer fingers together as she talked, "I forget that people aren't used to the feeling sometimes… I mean, I've never really had the problem of motion sickness since my semblance forced me to adapt to the feeling—"

Mercury stopped her rambling by ruffling her hair, "Hey, it's fine kid."

Ruby spluttered, "I-I'm not a kid!"

"You sure about that shorty?"

"Yes!" Ruby stressed, glaring halfheartedly at the silver haired boy, "I am completely grown up. You want to know why?"

Mercury raised one brow.

"Because _I drink milk._ "

At that Mercury burst out with genuine laughter, bringing his hand up to muffle his chuckles as Ruby spluttered more in embarrassment. He regained control of himself but he still had an amused smile on his face as he wiped a nonexistent tear from his eye. His attention turned back to Ruby and he noted that she looked to be pouting and looked a little upset, and he felt himself moving his hand to ruffle her hair again before he even thought out the action.

"Milk is good for you," Mercury admitted as Ruby turned her puppy dog eyes to him. He became slightly uncomfortable when her stare persisted and he stepped back a few steps, "Ruby please stop staring at me like that."

Her puppy dog eyes just seemed to intensify. Mercury blinked before sighing, "Alright, _fine_. You're not a kid."

Ruby immediately smiled, "Ha, I knew you would cave."

She began walking towards the highway above them as he stared at her in shock. He was supposed to be tricking her, not the other way around! Damn irresistible puppy eyes…

Mercury shook his head before walking over to her, and he followed her gaze to see a Paladin jump onto the highway above and give chase to Blake and Sun, "So, do we have a plan, or…?"

"Weiss is going to get the big robot thing down here," Ruby explained before gasping and looking over at him, "Oh, I need to tell you the team attacks!"

"The what?"

"Team attacks. My team and I established names for coordinated attacks so communication in the battlefield would be easier. We uh, we actually discussed team attacks paired with you over the scroll while I used my semblance to get here, but I think you were too busy trying not to throw up to pay attention to us."

"Hey, I was not about to throw up at any point," Mercury defended reflexively despite knowing it wasn't true.

"Uh-huh," Ruby said with a disbelieving tone, "Your face totally wasn't completely green at one point of the trip _at all._ "

The silver haired assassin scowled at Ruby and stared at her for a moment, "…You know, sarcasm doesn't look good on you."

"You're just saying that because your pride is wounded," Ruby giggled.

He looked off to the side as he realized the girl was more perceptive than he thought, and not so subtly went to change the subject, "…just tell me the team attacks."

Ruby didn't push her teasing and answered, " _Freezerburn_ is Yang and Weiss. When I call that, get as far away from them as you can, then use the steam for cover. You'll get what I'm saying soon enough," she explained, " _Checkmate_ is Blake and Weiss, _Ladybug_ is Blake and I, _Ice Flower_ is Weiss and I, and _Bumblebee_ is Yang and Blake. We had a team attack for Yang and I, but _Strawberry Sunrise_ was a bit too long to say, so we just say _SS_."

They must be a pretty effective team to be this coordinated, Mercury mused before asking, "So what are my names?"

"You and Blake are _Kuros_ ," Ruby began, "And with Weiss it's _Cold Feet_. With Yang, we could only think up _Gauntlets and Greaves_ and _Silver 'n Gold_ , which are both too long to really say in the middle of battle…so we decided on _Metals_. And with me… _QuickSilver_."

"...Interesting," Mercury eventually replied, keeping an eye on the fast approaching Paladin. He would question Ruby's reasoning for the names her and her team produced later.

The blue haired guy, Neptune if he remembered right, stabbed the top of the Paladin with his trident, and it looked like he was having some difficulty staying on. Sun stood on a box truck as he used his semblance to send clones toward the Paladin before taking out his staff and jumping forward, only for Neptune to be thrown off and right into Sun. They were sent tumbling off the highway and out of sight. Mercury drew his head back a little, "Well, that's not good."

"What? What is it?" Ruby asked, who didn't watch Neptune and Sun's futile attack, "Did something happen?"

"Uh…" Mercury looked at her from the corner of his eye before faking a small grin, "Nah, nevermind. Everything's fine."

"But why did you—"

"Paladin incoming!"

Ruby and Mercury jumped back as the Paladin Torchwick was piloting began to tumble from the highway, and Ruby unfolded her scythe as Mercury dropped into a combat ready stance.

The Paladin hit the ground with a thud, wind rushing towards Mercury and Ruby and disturbing their hair for a moment before the strands settled back in place. A moment later and Weiss, Blake and Yang dropped down from the highway beside Ruby and Mercury, all brandishing their weapons as the Paladin thumped toward them. Mercury smirked, imagining Torchwick's face at seeing Mercury with the girls.

_"Freezerburn!"_

Mercury saw Ruby and Blake retreat and he followed as Yang jumped into the air and Weiss used her dust abilities and rapier to create a film of ice overtop the ground. Weiss jumped back with the aid of her glyphs as Yang fell and slammed her fist into the ice, a steamy mist overcoming the area.

Mercury watched from the protection of the steam as the Paladin began to march forward and scan for the huntresses in training, and he looked over at Ruby, who was a few meters away. Ruby looked over at him as the Paladin began firing at Blake, Weiss and Yang, who were running around and distracting Torchwick, and she smiled a bit, pointing her scythe toward him with the blade turned sideways.

_"QuickSilver!"_

Mercury looked at the scythe in confusion before running forward as Ruby bent her knees. As he came closer, she called, "Jump on the blade, I'll launch you!"

He did so hesitantly, wondering if she could even hold up his weight, and once his boots hit the silver metal she pulled the trigger on her scythe and heaved it over her head. Mercury fired his boots as he was suddenly horizontal over her head and sailed toward the Paladin just as Yang and Blake were knocked back by a blast from the Paladin's guns. Mercury tucked into a ball as he rolled through the air and his boots made contact with the front of the Paladin a second later.

_"Checkmate!"_

Figuring his turn was over, he discharged his boots against the Paladin, propelling himself away as Blake and Weiss dashed forward to attack. He landed beside Yang as Weiss was knocked back and hit Blake with a time manipulation glyph. A barrage of rockets were fired towards the faunus and she used her weapons to slice the rockets in half before they even hit her.

_"Ladybug!"_

Ruby ran forward and began slicing at the Paladin's metallic feet with Blake, going back and forth between the Paladin's legs. The Paladin tried to shoot at Ruby but she jumped in the air, and she and Blake sliced one of the arms off of the Paladin.

_"Metals!"_

"Let's see what you're made of, Mercury," Yang commented before winking at him and using her gauntlets to launch herself into the air. Mercury followed and aimed kicks at the Paladin's chest area as Yang grabbed onto one of the metal slabs and pounded shotgun shells into one of the weak points in the back.

"Argh, son of a—" Mercury heard Torchwick growl from inside the cockpit, and he chuckled a little. Yeah, he was attacking one of his allies, but it was funny. Besides, Torchwick would be fine. Neo's around after all.

Mercury realized too late that the right metallic arm was swinging toward him, and he couldn't change his direction since he was in midair. The Paladin punched him hard and he was thrown back before skidding across the ground.

_"Mercury!"_ Ruby called in alarm.

"'M fine!" Mercury coughed, noting that his aura went down about twenty percent. He looked up to see the Paladin speeding back, and Yang was thrown into a concrete pillar. Yang began to fall as the Paladin turned, reared back its fist, and punched Yang through the pillar.

_"Yang!"_ Blake called as she took a few halting steps forward, but Ruby held an arm out in front of her.

"Don't worry. With each hit she gets stronger, and she uses that energy to fight back," Ruby explained as Yang rose to her feet, "That's what makes her special."

As Yang stood slowly and clenched her fist while the Paladin approached slowly, Mercury held some doubt in his features. Ruby didn't seem concerned at all as the Paladin went to punch Yang again, and even giggled a little as if she knew something the others didn't. Mercury watched with narrowed eyes as the metal limb flew towards the blonde—

"…well, I didn't expect that," Mercury stated out loud as Yang brought up her hand to catch the attack, and it looked like the force behind it didn't even move her from her position. Her hair suddenly burst into a golden fire as her eyes popped open, the lilac replaced by a crimson red, and she screamed as she swung her free hand toward the Paladin's remaining arm and shattered it to pieces.

Yang was hit by a kick from the Paladin, and Ruby was quick to take advantage of her sister's sudden flight.

_"Bumblebee!"_

Blake shot her weapon while in gun form towards Yang, and the red eyed girl caught it as she twisted in the air. Blake pulled the ribbon taught before swinging Yang around and towards the Paladin, but before Yang could land a hit, Torchwick piloted the Paladin away from the blonde's path.

"We have to slow it down!" Ruby stated loudly.

Weiss came up to her side, "And how do you propose we do that?"

_"…Ice Flower!"_

Ruby twirled her scythe and spiked the blade into the ground as Weiss formed glyphs in front of the barrel of Ruby's weapon. Ruby began firing at the Paladin, Weiss' glyphs coating the bullets with ice, and as they made contact with the Paladin, huge blocks of ice formed on its metallic shell, jamming up its joints to move. Blake swung Yang around one more time, and the blonde left a fire trail behind her before her fist finally made contact with the side of the Paladin, causing it to fly off its supports and crumble into a million pieces.

Torchwick rolled out of the wreckage before standing and dusting off his suit with a grumble, " _Just_ got this cleaned."

Mercury and the rest of Team RWBY joined Yang as the angered girl charged a shot and sent it right for Torchwick, who instinctively raised his arms to protect his face. Lucky for him, the ice cream girl decided to show up then and blocked the shot effortlessly with her little umbrella, smiling a little as she rested the staff of the parasol on her shoulder.

"Ladies, Ice Queen," Torchwick addressed with a tip of his hat, and Mercury could tell that Torchwick wanted to throw out a snide comment toward him as Mercury saw his green eyes trained on him. He merely smirked however, gravitating to Ruby's side just close enough so his arm brushed against hers.

"Hey!" Weiss squeaked in protest at the nickname before mumbling to herself, "Everyone calls me that. Why does everyone call me that…?"

"Always a pleasure," Torchwick ignored Weiss' interjection, "Neo, if you would."

Mercury crossed his arms and rolled his eyes as Neo lent forward with a small smirk on her face, knowing full well that she was creating an illusion so her and Torchwick could escape. He wondered which one of the girls would dart forward to attack the glass forms of Torchwick and Neo. _Probably Yang. She seems like the most confrontational of them all._

His guess rang true as Yang ran forward with a scream, and he watched as the illusion shattered and the partners in crime sailed away on a Bullhead.

"Well looks like he's found himself a new henchman," Yang commented with an irritated tone.

"Yeah…" Weiss agreed, a thoughtful look on her face, "It looks like she really made our plans... _fall apart?_ "

Weiss snickered at her own joke as everyone else stared at her blankly. Blake merely turned and left.

"No. Just— no," Yang stated with annoyance.

Weiss made a noise of indignation, "Wha— but you do it!"

"Oh god…" Ruby murmured from beside Mercury, slapping her palm to her forehead, "It's spreading."

"You can't escape it, Ruby," Mercury smirked, taking a step closer and leaning towards her, " _One of us, one of us—_ "

"Stop being creepy!" Ruby slapped his chest, not able to conceal her smile. She looked at her team retreating and she called out, "Wait, where are Sun and Neptune?"

"Well...they kind of fell off the highway…" Yang mentioned as she rubbed the back of her neck, "Maybe we should go look for them?"

Blake shook her head, "Knowing Sun they probably just went to ste— uh...I mean, go get something to eat."

"Well let's check the restaurant's around where they fell off. We should be able to find them easy, since they don't exactly blend into the crowd," Weiss commented.

"Oh! We can go get dinner out too!" Ruby added, looking over at Mercury, "U-Um, would you like to join us Mercury? I mean, I know that Cinder girl wants to talk to you about something so we won't keep you if you have to go—"

"Dinner sounds good," Mercury interrupted with a smirk. He knew he should probably report to Cinder, but he was technically doing his job so she couldn't exactly punish him if he gave her good intel, and he had quite a lot. Not to mention he would take any chance to avoid cafeteria food, so the choice was obvious in his mind, "So where should we look first?"

* * *

"We've been looking all over Vale for you two! Where have you been?!"

Ruby snickered in amusement as Yang's temper went to her head again, and the two boys tried desperately to defend themselves. It would seem that Blake was half right in her prediction, since Sun and Neptune did go and get a bite to eat, but Sun didn't resort to stealing, since they were sitting at a table with the old man that owned the vendor behind the counter. Eventually Yang stopped her rant and plopped down next to Neptune as Weiss and Blake also took seats with them.

"I'll go get us something to eat," Ruby announced to the group as she wandered over to the counter. She ordered the most basic dishes of noodles (and asked for him to throw in some fish on Blake's plate) and sat on one of the stools as she waited.

"So how exactly did you choose those team attack names?" Mercury's voice sounded off beside her suddenly, causing her to jump a little.

"Gah!…how long were you beside me?" Ruby demanded.

Mercury grinned, "The entire time."

Ruby narrowed her eyes at him before sighing and recalling his question, "Well, we basically went off of color for our team names. Ladybugs are black and red, Blake and I wear black and red. Same with _Bumblebee and Checkmate. Ice Flower_ is really the only exception, since it uses Weiss' main dust quality, ice, and my last name, which is a flower."

"Hm. How'd you come up with mine then?"

"Well, _Cold Feet_ comes from Weiss' color, that being snow. Snow is cold, and you use your feet in battle, so we put those two together," Ruby explained, " _Kuros_ , according to Blake, means 'black' in some other language, and you both wear black. We got _Metals_ from the fact that Yang's hair is the same color as gold and yours is the same color as silver. And _QuickSilver_...well, that's a villain turned super hero that has silver hair and is really fast, which is my semblance. We– we did think up other names for you and me, but they were too long."

Mercury raised a silent eyebrow, urging her to continue.

"There was _Red Mercury_. Literally your name and then y'know, I wear the color red and my name is a red gem, 'Ruby'. Not only was it too long but Torchwick calls me Red, and that's… well it's weird to use it. There was also _Poisonous Rose_ , since the element mercury is poisonous in one form, and, y'know, my last name. So… yeah."

"Hm," was all Mercury said in return, leaning his elbows on the counter. Ruby blinked as she eased her eyes off to the side.

"So...we didn't exactly find much, but...I really appreciate you helping us with this. I know you didn't have to, and it really means a lot… s-so, thanks," Ruby stammered as warmth grew on her face and Mercury just stared at her with that cocky smirk.

Her eyes eased back to the counter as she drummed her fingers awkwardly on the polished wood, and swung her legs idly. From the corner of her eye she saw Mercury swing around so his back was resting against the counter and his elbows came up to brace against the counter top as he looked over at her.

"Eh, it's what friends do," Mercury shrugged as he said this in a nonchalant tone, and Ruby glanced at him again. Her mouth twitched into a small smile.

"Friends don't normally meet three days prior before going out to try and take down a secret criminal organization together only to fight a huge robot piloted by a criminal mastermind."

"Now who said I was normal? Who said we were normal?" Mercury chuckled as he nudged her arm, "Today was… fun."

As Mercury found himself thinking that statement wasn't a complete lie, Ruby blinked before nodding slowly, "I had fun too…oh! And I think your greaves are awesome! How do they work? I barely noticed them when we first met yet they hold so much firepower and—" Ruby stopped herself as she realized she was rambling, and Mercury raised his brow yet again.

"You're rather curious."

"Ehe, sorry… I'm kind of a weapon nerd. I mean, I suppose you can tell from my own weapon, but… I just find weapons cool in general, and I think it's so awesome that every design has that unique touch to it that only the person wielding it could have made. It's like if you get familiarized with the weapon that someone uses, you find out things about them in a way," Ruby tried to explain as she shrugged in embarrassment, eyes looking anywhere but him. She turned back to him when she felt a hand ruffle her hair yet again.

"That's an interesting way to look at it," Mercury replied after a moment, looking almost taken aback by Ruby's opinion on the matter, "…I guess I can tell you a little bit about them…"

As Ruby leaned forward with an excited grin, the pair failed to notice the five sets of eyes that were trained on them.

"Yang, I wanted to talk to you about Ruby and Mercury," Weiss began slowly, effectively tearing the rest of the groups attention away from the duo.

"What about them?" Yang's voice was filled with curiosity and wariness, soft lilac glancing at her little sister from time to time.

"Well, I know you were teasing her about her feelings toward Mercury yesterday, but I couldn't help but notice today that Mercury seemed adamant on staying close to her. Normally I wouldn't pay it any mind, but we don't really know him, and… I dunno…" Weiss looked at her hand that was splayed flat on the table.

"What are you trying to say?" Blake asked quietly, "Did Mercury do something to give you a reason not to trust him around Ruby?"

"No, not at all! You saw him in the fight, he was rather helpful and adapted to our attacks well, not to mention he ensured Ruby stayed out of harm's way once she left to confront that Penny girl," Weiss denied, shaking her head, "Ruby just doesn't seem like the person that is used to the interactions that Mercury introduces."

"So…what? Is Mercury flirting with her or something?" Sun asked, "I mean, that doesn't sound so bad. Mercury seems like a cool guy."

"Well…he does have the 'bad boy' aura about him," Blake mused as she stared down at her cup of tea, "And Ruby doesn't exactly have experience with those sorts of conversations."

"That translates to Ruby can be as dense as a rock when met with a flirt," Weiss sighed, "I don't think she'd even realize it until—"

Weiss was abruptly cut off as the glass in Yang's hand shattered in the blonde's grip, water drenching her gloved hand as her eyes flickered to an ominous red. Weiss gulped as Yang stared at her, "Weiss. Are you trying to imply that Mercury will try to take advantage of my little sister?"

"U-U-Uhm, no-not precisely, I was just—"

"Then what _were_ you implying?"

Weiss knew exactly what she meant to say, but in the presence of the fiery blonde's protective instinct the words caught in her throat, "I… I wasn't—"

"Yang, I don't think Weiss meant anything sinister like that," Neptune joined in after observing for a while, placing a hand on the blonde's shoulder. Yang seemed to still at his touch but her eyes stayed a bright crimson, "I mean yeah, he's a flirt—"

"Takes a flirt to spot a flirt," Sun mumbled. Neptune ignored him.

"—but she wasn't saying Mercury's going to try anything like that. I think she was just suggesting that one of you — or all of you, either way — talk to Ruby seriously about Mercury. Am I right?" Neptune looked at Weiss as he asked this.

Weiss nodded quickly, "Yes, that's exactly what I was suggesting," and as Yang closed her eyes and pinched the bridge of her nose to calm herself, Weiss mouthed _thanks_ to Neptune, who merely smiled a little in response.

"…okay," Yang breathed after a moment, eyes opening to reveal a soft lilac again, "Sorry. I just don't want anything bad to happen to little Rubes. She's our little _Rubaby_ after all."

Blake hid her smile behind her teacup, "Just this once I will allow the pun…because that is honestly an adorable name for her."

"And fits perfectly for her in some situations," Weiss smiled a little before going back to business, "So, when should we talk to her?"

"Tonight would probably be the best, once we return to our dorms," Blake interjected, "It'd be best to inform Ruby of our concerns as soon as possible, since Mercury shows no sign of leaving anytime soon."

"Alright… tonight," Yang said after a moment, forcing a smile, "Thanks for letting me know, Weiss."

"It's my pleasure," Weiss replied earnestly, "I don't want to see Ruby hurt just as much as you do. She is my partner after all."

Before anyone else could say any more, Ruby and Mercury came back with six dishes and placed them all in front of the girls and took the last two seats that happened to be beside each other. Ruby handed the plate with fish to Blake and the cat faunus ducked her head with a slight smile of thanks.

"What're you guys talking about?" Ruby asked cheerfully as she settled in her seat.

Yang responded normally despite the newfound wariness she felt towards Mercury and Ruby sticking together, "Nothing much. Thanks for dinner, Rubes."

"I wouldn't be a good team leader if I didn't treat my team!" Ruby chirped happily before glancing at Mercury, "Well, plus Mercury. I guess you were adopted into our team today."

"Hey, what about us?!" Sun objected.

"You two lasted two minutes against Torchwick before being flung off the highway screaming," Blake deadpanned.

As Sun spluttered out excuses and Neptune turned an uncharacteristic pink, Ruby giggled and leant over to whisper jokingly to Mercury, "Welcome to Team RWBBY… with two B's, of course."

Mercury smirked back.


	5. No Shame

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> You want a battle here's a war. You'll get it soon ;)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I HAVE NO SHAME.

The moon was high in the sky when Team RWBY, Sun, Neptune, and Mercury set off for Beacon. Mercury was quite surprised from his experience with the group, grudgingly admitting to himself that he enjoyed himself. During their dinner, Sun teased Blake as she tried to bury her nose into a book, and Weiss fretted over Ruby and her constantly running off despite Mercury going after her. The small group held a strong sense of family, something that Mercury was both perplexed and envious of.

Yang had immediately latched onto Ruby and towed her away from him as they walked, speaking animatedly to her younger sister as she sent a warning glance back at Mercury. He kept his face blank and waited for the blonde to turn her gaze away before rolling his eyes. What changed in the time between the fight and now was unknown to him, but he didn't dwell on it.

"Yang is rather protective of her," Blake spoke from beside him, appearing from practically nowhere, "She doesn't seem to realize that Ruby needs to learn to grow up by herself by...experimenting in her life, let's just say."

Mercury looked over to the cat faunus, confusion taking over his features, "Uh...what exactly are you getting at?"

"I wanted to give you a small warning," Blake replied, her golden eyes darting to him, "Ruby is still considered as the...well, as the little sister of our circle of friends. And you have been showing some interest in her, whether it be your intention or not. Just know that Yang and Weiss both care adamantly for Ruby's well being...well, Weiss would not admit it, but she does. And with Ruby suddenly interacting with you, it has raised some alarms for them."

He was slightly surprised that Blake decided to warn him about this. She didn't seem like one of the most confrontational people, and she struck him as the type to blend into the shadows rather than put herself in the direct attention of someone, which she was doing currently.

"Why are you telling me this?"

"...When Ruby gave me that book you picked out, she spoke highly of you. She hoped that you and her would become friends. Because of that, I wanted to ensure Ruby has the chance to befriend you," Blake glanced ahead to survey the sisters as Yang laughed boisterously and Ruby spluttered through a response. The faunus continued in a lower voice, "Just know that Yang has her eye on you now. Weiss brought your flirtatious nature up to her, and although we were able to calm her, that does not mean you aren't out of dangerous waters."

Mercury couldn't resist, "I'm pretty sure Yang would be better described as fire."

Blake looked at him, unimpressed, "So you're a fan of puns as well...I am so sorry Ruby," She shook her head as she muttered that last comment. Then, "But really, despite me giving you fair warning with this, know that if you hurt her in any way that neither her team nor JNPR, and probably Sun and Neptune, will show you mercy."

"...Duly noted," Mercury said after a moment, eyes trained on the back of Ruby's head. His mind went back to his earlier thoughts of her, before they took the bullhead to the CCT. Mercury still thought of her as good looking, he'll admit, but also he was starting to...enjoy _talking_ with her. The way she talked about weapons so passionately and seemed genuinely interested in his own was a new experience for him, and it was refreshing to say in the least to listen to someone talk of something besides devious plans and flippant remarks.

However, he couldn't resist poking fun one last time, and he raised his voice just loud enough so it would reach the cloaked girl in front of the group, "But I can't promise anything. After all, I can be rather _toxic_ to those around me."

Ruby whirled around in less than a second, and she growled as she spotted his smirk, "I told you that fact not thirty minutes ago and you already made a pun out of it! Really?!"

His smirk widened as he chuckled out a response, "What can I say? My wit can be rather _infectious._ "

As Ruby groaned, Yang turned and placed one hand on her hip, raising a brow at him, "Oh, you think you're witty, huh?"

"I'd like to think so, yes."

"Uh oh," Weiss mumbled, "She's not going to—"

"Well I know for a fact that you can't outwit the Queen Punmaster!"

"Yup, she's going to," Weiss sighed.

"Are you trying to say it's _irregal_ to defeat you in a pun battle?"

Yang gaped at him, and Ruby's hands flew to her mouth to muffle a squeak of chuckles. Blake raised a calm eyebrow before addressing her partner, "I believe that would be his declaration of war, Yang."

"Oh, you really think you can beat me?!"

Mercury crossed his arms and rocked back on one foot, "Eh, I don't really care if I win or not. I'm just doing this to get my _kicks_."

"This is painful…" Neptune groaned.

"Oh _please,_ I did a theatrical performance on puns," Yang bragged, flipping her hair over her shoulder, "Really it was just a play on words."

"Okay, please stop," Ruby whined, silver eyes squeezing shut as she slapped a palm to her forehead, "I would rather talk about...I dunno... birds or something at this point. Anything but a pun war."

"Oh yeah, I know a little bit about birds, Rubes," Yang grinned as she took in Ruby's horrified expression, "There's actually a special species of bird that are really good at holding stuff together. They're called _velcrows_."

Mercury raised a brow, "Hm. Well you can try to annoy me with bird puns all you want, but just know _toucan_ play that game."

"I'm leaving," Sun shook his head before bolting to his dorm.

"See ya later ladies, Mercury," Neptune added as he raced after his friend.

"Now look at what you two dolts have done," Weiss huffed as she crossed her arms, "You have probably scarred them for life!"

"Oh come on. Why do you have to be so _Weiss_ cold?" Yang teased.

"I think you really need to break through your _Weissy_ exterior and show your rarely _Schneen_ side," Mercury commented.

Weiss stomped her foot angrily as Yang looked over at him in surprise, "Huh. I'll admit, that one was pretty good Mercury!"

"I try."

"I'm just going to forget this conversation ever happened," Blake stated in her monotonous voice as she quickly joined Weiss, "Let's go before they get any more ideas."

"Aw, no fun Blakey! Can't you just _yang_ in there for a second?!" Yang managed to get out before bursting with a roaring laughter as Blake glared daggers at her partner.

Mercury huffed out a soft laugh as the monochrome teammates seemed to walk even faster as Yang's laughter continued, and Mercury sauntered up to Ruby and impulsively ran his pointer finger along her jawline before grinning and flicking her nose. Her silver eyes bulged out of her skull as she looked at him.

"I'll see you around, Little Red," Mercury said before strolling off, hearing her stutter out a farewell to his back. He felt himself smiling at her awkwardness before reaching the exchange student dorms by himself.

_Remember Mercury, she's a huntress,_ he berated himself as he wiped the genuine smile away, pressing his lips into a firm line, _you're hanging around her for intel and intel only. At most, she would be a good fling...though now that I think it over, she doesn't seem like the type of girl to do that._

He shook his head and squared his shoulders before resuming in his strut forward only to be yanked forward forcefully by a certain green haired partner of his.

"Miss me that much, Emerald?" Mercury drawled easily as he examined her infuriated face.

"You're an _idiot!_ " Emerald ranted, keeping her voice low as to not cause too much attention, "It is ten to midnight and Cinder is ready to burn the entire school down! I've been trying to get ahold of you but your scroll kept immediately going to voicemail!"

"Yeah, because I was working," Mercury stressed, all teasing gone as he shook her hand from his arm, "Y'know, gathering intel? Becoming buddy-buddy with the ditz—" that term shouldn't have bothered him, but he felt a slight tug in his stomach which he ignored, "—and her friends? Beating down on Torchwick just because his anger is amusing?" Mercury added the last part as an afterthought, a grin returning to his face.

" _Mercury,_ " Emerald stressed with a near desperate tone, "You have to take this seriously! Cinder has half a mind to kill you and—"

"And nothing," Mercury interrupted, stomping forward and taking out his scroll to open the lock on their door, "Once I tell Cinder all I know, she's gonna be thanking me."

He opened the door and stepped inside, all semblance of his past enjoyment vanished as the fire queen herself turned and let her eyes glow an ominous orange, "Mercury...I would hope that you have good reasoning for not reporting in until now."

"Very good reasons, ma'am," Mercury rushed out, and he sat in the chair Cinder gestured to. Cinder took a seat on her bed as Neo played with the ends of her pigtails in the corner, her pink and brown eyes trained on him. Emerald walked to her own bed and plopped down on it as she began to play on her scroll, but she kept an ear out for the conversation.

"Then tell me; have you found out any of their semblances?"

"All of Team RWBY's, yes," Mercury nodded, listing them off mindlessly, "Ruby's semblance is speed. Weiss is a part of the Schnee family, so her semblance must be summoning. Blake can leave shadow clones behind...she's also a faunus. And Yang can use the damage she takes to channel energy to her muscles and strengthen her attacks. Also, that monkey faunus, Sun, can create two clones of himself like Blake, but they move to attack. He can't seem to move when he is utilizing his semblance however."

"Hmm...now this Yang...Neo has relayed to me that she seemed rather angered when she went to attack," Cinder mused, prompting Mercury to confirm.

"She is the most quick tempered of them all," Mercury nodded, "She tends to let her fists do the talking."

"Interesting," Cinder brought a large tablet around and typed some notes into it. She then checked her scroll before turning back to Mercury, "That may prove useful later on...Now, tell me of the others."

"Well Team RWBY is rather coordinated," Mercury added, recalling Ruby's explanations of the team attacks, "They have created attacks and communicate well. Even without my help, they probably could have taken down Torchwick's Paladin with relative ease."

"Although this information is good to note, the knowledge of one team being able to at the very least function is not exactly what I expect from one of my more trusted associates," Cinder said slowly, her eyes calculating and cold as she regarded him, "And identifying semblances can just as easily be found through escapades in the combat arena. If there is nothing else worth noting—"

"I have something else," Mercury interrupted, now slightly on edge since the bright golden decals and Cinder's eyes began to glow with her power, "When I was out we ran into this girl named Penny. She's entering the tournament as well...and she's a robot."

"...a robot," Cinder's eyes lost their glow as she leant forward and propped her chin on her hand, "Like Ironwood's new robotic forces?"

"Not exactly. Physically speaking, her appearance is just the same as a teenage girl, and she also has a personality and an aura," Mercury explained, remembering how Penny stopped the box truck with her bare hands, "But underneath the paint, it's just metal. Ruby is...friends with her."

"My my…" Cinder drawled, a sinister smile forming on her face as the gears turned in her mind, "This certainly is interesting news. You certainly have outdone yourself, Mercury. Excellent work."

"Thank you, ma'am."

"So...how does this change the plan?" Emerald asked, hoping to steal away the attention Mercury was being given.

"It certainly makes some aspects of our plan much easier," Cinder tapped some more notes into the large tablet, "All that we need to do now...is find an access point for the randomizer for the tournament."

Neo perked up at this, typing something in her scroll and showing it to the closest person, that being Mercury.

_{Once the virus is implanted into the CCT someone like Ironwood will probably unknowingly give us that access}_

Mercury relayed Neo's message and Cinder nodded, "Smart girl, Neo. I will inform you all of the details concerning the outing a week before the dance. As for now, Emerald, Neo, your orders are unchanged. As for you, Mercury…" Cinder turned to the silver haired teen, "I would like to know the semblance of the star pupil Pyrrha Nikos. Also, continue your interactions within our Red Rose's inner circle. Report anything of significance."

"Will do," Mercury agreed immediately, standing from the slightly uncomfortable chair and walking over to his bed. As Cinder turned to her scroll and Neo wordlessly left to return to Torchwick's hideout, Emerald turned to him.

"So how was your time with the brats?" Emerald questioned, curiosity filling her crimson orbs.

"...Interesting, to say in the least," Mercury reached into the draw of the nightstand and pulled out his comic, X-Ray and Vav, "I started a pun war."

Emerald groaned before turning back to her scroll, "Of course you would. As long as you're not making them around me, I don't care."

"But you're such a _gem_ to be around, Emerald."

Emerald's pillow hit his face with a surprising amount of force, but he merely grinned through it.

"Worth it."

* * *

Ruby stretched her arms as she yawned loudly and shrugged off her red cloak, hanging it up with care on her bedpost, "Anyone ready to sleep forever? Because I'm beat."

She was met with an odd silence that set her on edge, and as she took a seat on Weiss' bed temporarily to unlace her boots, she studied her teammates faces. Weiss and Yang seemed to look like they wanted to say something as Blake calmly sat on her own bed and sent a small smile to the silver eyed girl. Ruby frowned, pulling off her boots and setting them off to the side.

"Guys? What's wrong?"

"...We actually wanted to talk to you about something, Ruby," Weiss said, walking over and placing Myrtenaster delicately on the window sill and reaching to shut the window, "It's about Mercury."

Ruby blinked, discarding her black pinafore and leaving her in the puffy grey shirt and red skirt with her emblem etched in black. She tucked her legs up onto the bed as she cocked her head, "What about Mercury?"

"Well...we noticed that you and Mercury seem to be getting rather close, and we had some concerns."

Ruby looked at her partner in confusion, "Of course I'm getting closer to him. We _are_ friends after all."

"You see sis, that's what we're worried about," Yang spoke up, stepping forward, "You're introverted brain isn't getting it again, Rubes. We're trying to say that Mercury seems to have taken an interest in you that goes beyond friendship, and we were worried about how you would respond."

"Beyond friend- wait, you think he actually _like_ likes me?" Ruby placed a hand on her chest for emphasis, "Why would you think that? So what, we talk. It's no big deal!"

Despite her words, she couldn't help but think back to his goodbye mere minutes ago. Why had he caressed her jaw like that only to playfully bid her goodbye? She would be lying if she said that a blush hadn't dusted across her cheeks and a shiver hadn't gone down her spine when he had done that, but despite her reaction to it, she didn't think Mercury actually liked her of all people. He's just a friend that doesn't mind invading other people's personal space...right?

"You may think that Ruby, but Mercury has exhibited some signs that show he may be interested in more than friendship," Blake announced softly, though her eyes held slight amusement at Ruby considering how flustered she looked. Blake certainly didn't feel the need to shelter Ruby like Yang and Weiss seemed keen on doing so, and she wouldn't forbid Ruby from creating a relationship with Mercury like she suspected Yang was planning on doing, "He has only known you for less than a week, and he has already gone out of his way to talk and spend time with you."

"Th-That still doesn't mean he...that he likes me. I mean…" Ruby closed her mouth as her words faded away, but her insecurities were rearing their ugly heads. Why would Mercury like her? It's not like she was pretty like Yang, Blake, and Weiss. Even his partner, Emerald! In Ruby's eyes, she was just...average.

"Listen Ruby, you can deny it all you want but quite frankly, we can all see it," Weiss interjected, cutting through Ruby's thoughts, "Besides, normally the last person to realize it is the person that the other person actually has a crush on, and in this case it just happens to be you."

"Exactly," Yang agreed, looking down at Ruby as she placed her hands on her hips, "We just wanted to inform you of it, Ruby. And...well, maybe you should avoid spending too much time with him for now on."

Ruby looked startled when Yang suggested this, and she blinked a few times before answering simply, "I… no. I'm not going to avoid him."

Yang looked thrown off by that statement, but Ruby had already delved back into her thoughts before she could notice it. Even if Mercury did take an interest in her in that way...what about her? She had to admit, she did enjoy his presence, and sometimes when he was close she felt butterflies fluttering in her stomach. He was surprisingly easy to talk to, and that spoke miles since she had difficulty talking to others that weren't her friends already. It took her much longer than her time with Mercury to have a productive conversation with Weiss, and she was her partner for goodness sake!

Ruby resisted frowning, knowing that it would alert her teammates to her inner monologue. She didn't really mind when he got close, that's for sure. So...did that mean she liked him? When Weiss proposed that fact at first, Ruby certainly didn't immediately feel repulsed by the idea. She wasn't sure how she felt about it actually… but she certainly wasn't vehemently opposed to the idea.

"But...Ruby," Yang struggled to form a thought, having blinked away her confusion from Ruby's blunt refusal, "If he's trying to form that type of relationship, it's best to distance yourself so he can get the hint, you know?"

"Just because Mercury may have... _feelings_ for me, it doesn't mean I'm going to just throw away his friendship," Ruby shook her head, "That wouldn't be fair to him. And besides, you don't actually know, you're just speculating. Why does it even matter anyway?"

Yang seemed to be struggling with her wording, torn between just saying her thoughts outright and sugarcoating it for her little sister, "It matters because, despite you thinking you understand how relationships work, you aren't very experienced with them sis, and you're still a kid-"

"I-I'm not a kid!" Ruby exclaimed, a sudden fire in her eyes as she jumped to her feet, "And I understand it completely! Just because I'm a little younger than you Yang doesn't mean that I'm still uneducated!"

"No Ruby, you don't," Yang insisted, "Not only is Mercury pursuing you, but he's a flirt and by what I've heard Mercury wouldn't necessarily stay loyal to you should you two date...which isn't going to happen!"

"Oh? Like how _Neptune_ is a flirt but you seem to think spending time with him is no big?" Ruby rebuked, balling her hands on her hips as Yang stepped back one step, "And you can't tell me what to do! You're not dad!"

"I only allow myself to be around Neptune since I know how to deal with flirts. You don't," Yang said slowly, though Ruby knew Yang was trying to quell her frustration, "And I'm just looking out for you. Dad wanted me to after all, since like it or not, you're less experienced than me when dealing with situations like this."

"I don't need anyone to look out for me," Ruby defended as she pouted childishly, "I can take care of myself just fine. Professor Ozpin wouldn't have allowed me to be here if I couldn't. Look Yang, I know you want to protect me but I'm not going to throw away one of my friends just because you're being paranoid."

"You can handle yourself in battle, Ruby. Social situations are a little different from the battlefield!"

"Nevertheless, I've done just fine so far, and Mercury is really nice to me! I'm still going to talk to him whether you approve of it or not!"

"Uh...Maybe this has gone too far…" Weiss mentioned nervously, gaze darting between the two sisters.

Weiss was ignored as Yang focused on the growing argument with her sister, "I'm just looking out for you, and despite Mercury being kind, I don't like you spending that much time with him!"

"You didn't seem to have a problem with him when you two were exchanging puns," Ruby cocked a brow.

"That was different," Yang insisted, "That was harmless fun! This is different!"

"What's the difference? You enjoyed exchanging jabs at each other," Ruby crossed her arms, trying to refrain from glaring, "Why can't I enjoy spending time with him? You're asking me to sacrifice a friend that I really enjoy talking to, and who actually tolerates my nerdy weapon talk, and even maintains a conversation about it! You should be happy I actually made a friend without your help!"

"I am, really I am," Yang replied, her lilac eyes desperate to explain her side to her sister, "But Mercury...I don't know about him Ruby. I know he's your friend, but I'm worried and I don't want you to get hurt."

"Mercury wouldn't hurt me Yang," Ruby insisted, using her semblance to change into her pajamas as she continued to talk, jumping up to her bed once she finished changing within a few seconds, "You don't know him like I do. You didn't see what he did," And then, a thought occurred to her, "You know I almost got run over by a truck today?"

Weiss gasped as Blake blinked, shocked. Yang gaped as her previous frustration clouded over with worry and concern, " _What?_ Ruby are you-"

"I'm fine, evidently, since I could fight afterward. But do you want to know why that truck didn't hit me?" Ruby questioned, answering a second later, "Because Mercury ran as fast as he could to me and he grabbed me. He saved me Yang. Does he still sound like someone I should avoid? He risked his life for me!"

Weiss looked almost ashamed as Ruby told them this, and Blake's eyes swelled with slight pride as Ruby stood up for herself and Mercury. She may not be the most interactive of the group, but to see Ruby be so passionate over her argument made the corners of Blake's mouth to twitch. Ruby saw this, but she made sure not to let her appreciation show on her face, since Yang looked slightly doubtful of her stance in the argument but not quite convinced.

"That's...I'm glad Mercury did that Ruby. I really am. But I still don't trust him with you emotionally. I'm sorry, but I can't tell you I approve."

Ruby felt her insides contract, and a coldness enter her chest and linger in her lungs. Yang didn't _approve?_ Ruby told her sister everything, and Yang always supported her. But now...she just…

She felt an uncharacteristic comment bubble in her throat, and even though Ruby wouldn't say it under normal circumstances, she felt Yang went too far in this argument, and the words tumbled out, "I don't need your approval, Yang."

Yang looked as if she was slapped by her words, but Ruby merely pulled back the sheets on her bed and slid under them, placing her head upon her pillow. Silver eyes stared at lilac as Ruby continued, "Mercury's my friend, and your disapproval over it is not going to change that. I'm sorry."

Ruby looked away as Yang gasped silently, and refused to see the slight glassy look Yang's eyes had gained. Wordlessly, Yang wandered into the bathroom, more than likely in shock, and Weiss silently rose from her seat beside Blake, gathering up Myrtenaster, Crescent Rose, and Gambol Shroud, "I'll bring these to our weapons lockers…" Weiss looked up at Ruby, pressing her lips into a firm line before adding quietly, "Sorry Ruby…"

Weiss left without another word, and Ruby squeezed her eyes shut since she felt tears rising up. She thought her sister would be the most supportive of her friendship with Mercury. But now, it had to come to this?

She startled when a warm hand landed on her shoulder, and her eyes open to reveal Blake staring calmly at her. Her yellow eyes were filled with understanding, and the faunus smiled a little before speaking.

"That took a lot of guts to say that, Ruby. Just know I support you on this, and I think you convinced Weiss as well."

"...Thanks Blake," Ruby murmured sadly, eyes wandering to the closed bathroom door. Blake noticed this and tucked a few strands of Ruby's hair behind her ear.

"She'll come around," Blake reassured her leader, patting Ruby's hand, "Just give her time."

"Okay…" Ruby smiled a little at the normally quiet girl, watching the girl retreat to grab her nightclothes. Impulsively, Ruby called out, "And Blake?"

Blake turned and raised one expectant eyebrow at Ruby, and she continued.

"Thanks for talking with Mercury...I saw you with him when we were walking back. I guess you warned him about Yang?"

Blake nodded, "I thought it was necessary. I know you enjoy his company. I just wanted to help, since Momma Yang certainly will try to intervene eventually."

"Yeah…"

"Don't be so down. It's only natural," Blake shrugged, "You're our _Rubaby_ after all."

Ruby groaned, _"Really?!"_

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I nearly cried when I wrote Ruby and Yang arguing. I hate making them fight :(


	6. Meeting Cinnamon

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Here Cinder and Neo make an appearance...but Neo isn't called Neo... ;)

Ruby rubbed at her eyes tiredly as she woke to the sunlight beaming at her eyes, a peaceful smile on her face. She sat up, stretching her arms out as she scanned the room idly, and her eyes locked on Blake. It would seem the cat faunus had stayed up later than she did, since a spiral notebook was open on her lap, a pencil discarded on the floor as Blake seemed to fall asleep while writing. Ruby's slight smile vanished when she saw a drawn symbol of the White Fang on the pages, and the worry she felt for Blake only increased.

Sighing, Ruby slid off her bed and plopped to the ground before taking the notebook and flipping it closed and setting it on the shelving in front of the window. She went through her daily routine, taking a quick shower before dressing in her school uniform and draping her cloak over her shoulders, and combed through her slightly damp hair. It would be a while until her teammates woke up, since there were no morning classes today and they were allowed to sleep in, but after the unsettling argument last night, she didn't feel like sleeping any longer.

Her eyes slid over to Yang, examining the messy golden curls covering her face and cascading down her back. Her eyes could have deceived her, but she could have sworn she spotted dark marks from lack of sleep underneath her sister's eyes before Yang turned in her sleep and mumbled something incoherent.

Ruby couldn't help but feel slightly guilty for what she said the other night, but with Yang's constant pestering, Ruby didn't really have a choice. She valued her sister's support over everything, and for Yang to say such a thing hurt her more than Yang could even understand. She supposed it would just take Yang time to adapt to the idea, and Ruby hoped she would warm up to Mercury eventually. She doesn't want any bad blood between her sister and newfound friend, that's for sure.

Silently, Ruby opened the door and slipped out into the hallway, thinking that she might as well spend some time with Team JNPR. Nora made sure to wake up the entirety of her team in the morning, and Ruby sometimes spent the early morning with them when she woke up before the rest of her team. Before she could advance to JNPR's dorm, a pair of heeled feet came into her view.

"Oh. Hello!" Ruby greeted, seeing the girl was in Haven's uniform. Her eyes were a fiery amber, and long dark hair covered part of her right eye and faded slightly to an ashy color near the end of her hair, "I'm Ruby!"

The girl blinked before her eyes settled on her, and Ruby found herself thinking that this girl seemed familiar in a way. Even more confusing, Ruby realized that this girl didn't look like a _girl_. She looked much older than the age of a student. Ruby shook that thought away, reminding herself that there are students that are held back or start late, and tried to ignore the slight suspicion she felt.

"Hello there," The girl replied, a smirk planted firmly on her lips, "I am Cinder."

Ruby knew she heard that name before. Didn't Emerald mention her? That meant she was a part of Mercury's team. Although she was a little suspicious about her age, Ruby smiled at Cinder.

"Oh, you're a part of Mercury and Emerald's team! It's nice to meet you!" Ruby extended a hand, and Cinder took it delicately with her manicured fingers.

"Yes I am. I am the team leader of Team CMEN, actually," Cinder said with a proper tone, her eyes seemingly analyzing her closely, "You must be the girl that Mercury accompanied out yesterday night."

"Ah, yeah, that would be right," Ruby smiled sheepishly as she rubbed the back of her neck and scuffed the heel of her shoe against the carpeted floor, "He offered to help us out with something. He's really nice."

"I see," Cinder replied simply, turning around and looking at something. Ruby looked around her to see Cinder's entire team walking down the hall, "Well, I suppose I should introduce you to the entirety of Team CMEN, but you've already met half of us."

Ruby smiled and waved at the trio, and Mercury smirked back with a wink, while Emerald smiled. The last member of Team CMEN was a short girl with black hair in pigtails and emerald green eyes. She had a sleeveless black blouse with white frills on the chest and collar and a black ribbon bow hanging from the front of the collar. She also wore a short black skirt with a white belt along with black shoes and white legwarmers. Her arms from the elbows down were covered with black gloves, and her weapon seems to consist of some sort of brass knuckles, since slim metal contraptions were clasped onto her knuckles.

"Well, I haven't met her," Ruby pointed to the short girl, who blinked innocently at Ruby. Mercury seemed to watch the small girl closely as she sauntered up to Ruby with a cute little smile, taking Ruby's hand and shaking it gently.

"This is Nyx Peridot, my partner," Cinder explained, gesturing to the emerald eyed girl, "She prefers to communicate through her scroll."

"Oh, well it's nice to meet you," Ruby greeted, seeing the girl nod once and type something on her scroll.

_{Hello! It's nice to meet you too. I have to ask though...do you like ice cream?}_

Ruby blinked, surprised at the random question, but nodded anyway, "Yeah, I do. Why do you ask?"

_{Oh, we'll get along just fine then}_ Nyx typed quickly before winking. She let Ruby read it before taking the scroll back and typing a quick message, _{Well I'll see you around. I have to go meet someone}_

Nyx winked again before skipping off, but not before hip checking Mercury and Emerald playfully. As she skipped away, Emerald rolled her eyes and Mercury grumbled under his breath, something that Ruby had to smile of amusement at. Cinder stared impassively after the small girl, and Mercury looked over to Ruby, who had covered her mouth to hide her smile.

"Something funny, Ruby?" He arched a brow at her, and just like that, the previous thoughts she mulled over last night filled her mind and a light blush overtook her cheeks.

She couldn't help but wonder again if he was interested in something beyond friendship, and it made her even more so jittery and nervous around him than she was before. Before her team confronted her, she at the very least could form some semblance of thought and make conversation with him, but now it was like all her thoughts became jumbled and she couldn't think of a single thing to say.

"U-Uh, n-no! Nothing at all…" Ruby ducked her head and twisted her fingers together, biting her lip gently.

Emerald must've picked up on her evasiveness, since Ruby heard her speak, "You feeling okay, Ruby? You seem a little tense."

"Oh, uh, no I'm fine. Just...I've had a lot to think about lately," Ruby shrugged, eyes flickering to Mercury for mere seconds before dropping to the ground. That of course didn't go unnoticed by Mercury, but he said nothing.

"Are you referring to that Torchwick guy?" Emerald questioned, laughing a little when Ruby's gaze shot up to hers, "Merc couldn't keep everything from his team. Just relax, we don't need to know everything, but of course, we're here to talk if you'd like."

Ruby glanced at both Emerald and Cinder at this, and then trained her eyes on Mercury, who was staring impassively at Emerald until he felt Ruby's eyes on him. As he turned his gaze to her, she decided to humor her team's suspicions, and she searched his face for anything that may be a hint towards something, anything. She had no clue what she was looking for, but Ruby found herself having a hard time turning away from him and actually processing Emerald's statement. _What was going on with her? Did this mean she might like Mercury, just a little bit?_

"I appreciate the offer Em, but we're trying to keep this in a small circle of friends to avoid putting anyone else in danger," Ruby answered, a polite smile on her face, "Maybe you can help us one day, but for now I want to keep as little people involved as possible. Sorry."

As Emerald went to answer, Cinder began to follow Nyx's exit route after giving Ruby one last smile, but Ruby was too focused on Emerald and Mercury to recognize it as sinister. She waved distractedly at Cinder's back as Emerald talked, "That's okay. It's actually rather admirable that you're trying to protect your friends while risking your own life. Besides, Merc here is okay with that sort of stuff."

"Oh my, the world is ending," Mercury teased his partner, "Emerald actually complimented me. Someone slap me to make sure I'm not sleeping."

Ruby giggled a little as Emerald narrowed her eyes at the silver haired teen, and the cloaked girl found herself relaxing a little more. Mercury was still his teasing self, and Ruby felt a little foolish at unconsciously thinking Mercury might act differently now that the possibility of him being interested in her was now revealed to her. Emerald slapped his arm, and Mercury faked a look of hurt.

"So mean…" He muttered with a smirk before taking a step towards Ruby and ruffling her hair, an action he seemed to enjoy doing, "So, how're you doing Ruby? Sleep well?"

"I-I'm doing okay...I slept fine," Ruby shifted on her feet awkwardly as her gaze dropped to the floor again, "L-Like I said, I've...I've had a lot to think about…"

Mercury and Emerald shared a look, and Emerald took that as her cue to leave, "Well, I should probably get going...Cinder wants to go over a few things with me anyway," Emerald leveled a concerned look at Ruby and said, "If you ever need to talk…"

Emerald left the statement hanging in the air as she walked past Ruby after Cinder, directing her annoyed look at the blank wall. Mercury rolled his eyes at her back before focusing on the redhead who has yet to lift her gaze again. Ruby merely focused on the toes of Mercury's boots, her mind darting in all different directions as her thoughts took her away again. Ruby had never considered any of this to the extent she was now, and she knew it was all because the idea was presented to her. She also knew that since she seemed to be obsessing over it, she was definitely in a bit of trouble when it came to her silver haired friend.

Ruby startled a bit as a warm hand clamped around her shoulder, and her silver eyes followed the arm until she was gazing at Mercury's face again, and she couldn't help but think there was a…softness in his eyes, something that wasn't there when he was looking at his team. She was over analyzing it, surely, but Ruby suddenly became hyper aware of the warmth of his hand seeping through the fabric of her jacket and blouse, heating her porcelain skin up slowly. Randomly, she wondered how his palm would feel against her cheek, but she forced that thought out before she could even fully process the implications behind it.

"Hey, what's up?" Mercury asked, a concerned tone in his voice. Ruby sighed as her eyes dropped to stare at his chest.

"It's… it's my team. Well, Yang mostly," Ruby admitted, slightly jittery since Mercury had not removed his hand from her shoulder, "We got into a fight last night and… and we didn't end it on good terms."

"What was it about?"

"…well…" _oh no, what do I say?_ Ruby panicked silently, trying to squash down the butterflies in her stomach that had quickly morphed into a whirlwind that pulled her in every which way, "We uh, we were actually talking about… you."

"Me?" Mercury repeated before a smirk eased across his face yet again, "I knew I was popular among you girls. Already fighting over me are we?"

If a blush wasn't present already on Ruby's, then it definitely was now, "Y-You meanie! We weren't fighting over you, we were fighting over me being _with_ you, and—"

Ruby snapped her mouth shut as her eyes went wide and she shrunk a little as Mercury's gaze met her's. Knowing Mercury, he would likely press for more, and although a part of Ruby wished to be truthful to her friends, her other side wished not to stir anything up. His eyes held a curiosity that she couldn't ignore, and she knew she couldn't lie to her friend.

"Yang doesn't like me spending so much time with you," Ruby admitted, silver eyes darting off to the side, "And she wanted me to avoid you for a bit, but I said no. It just...escalated from there."

Mercury's smirk suddenly looked frozen on his face as he processed Ruby's admittance, and she looked at him with slight worry in her eyes. The smirk disappeared, and the curiosity in his eyes increased tenfold along with something else, but Ruby couldn't pinpoint what it was.

"Why did you do that?" Mercury questioned, confusion written on his face, "Why did you risk your relationship with your sister like that? It's not like we know each other very well; we just met."

"Well...it wouldn't really be fair to you, would it?" Ruby replied rhetorically, finding it difficult to look away from him now, "And...and I like spending time with you, Mercury. You're one of the few people that actually entertains my nerdy talk...and besides, even though we hardly know each other, you're still my friend. I'm not just going to write you off because my sister doesn't approve of me spending time with you."

As Ruby ducked her head yet again, Mercury looked at her in disbelief. It didn't take a lot to realize how close Ruby and Yang were, and he found it hard to believe that sisters would fight at all, even less about him. He supposed his acting skills were a lot better than he first thought for Ruby to be convinced of him enough to defend him, but then again...when with the small cloaked girl he couldn't help but think he was starting to act a bit more genuine.

Impulsively, he reached forward and grabbed ahold of the bangs on the right side of her face, the soft locks dipped in red tickling his fingertips. Ruby gasped silently before her silver eyes looked to the hand in her bangs, her slightly open mouth turning into a small smile. Caution was present on Ruby's face, but she didn't shake away his hand.

"U-Uh, ye-yeah. So...um...h-how are you?" Ruby struggled to divert the conversation to a different topic, since she had no idea what to do. Yang's voice rang in her mind, and the longer she talked with Mercury the more she wondered if her sister's suspicions really were true.

The other question was...did she feel the same way?

A look that could only be described as playful passed over Mercury's face, and he grinned before leaning down so his face was level with hers, noses nearly touching, "I'm doing good...but I _am_ still curious about this little argument. Are you _sure_ Yang only talked about you spending time with me?"

"...U-Uhm—"

"She didn't mention any _other_ reasons for you spending time with me, did she my little gem?"

"I…"

_"Who in the world is loitering out there!?"_

Ruby blinked, recognizing the voice in an instant, _Oh no. Please don't open the door please don't-_

The door swung open, and Mercury gave Ruby a wink before leaning away from her, but his hand stayed tangled in her bangs. They both turned to the source of the voice, Ruby in fear and Mercury uncaring of who it was.

"I mean really, some of us require a healthy amount of-" Weiss froze mid-sentence, still in her nightclothes and her hair slightly mussed from sleep. Her blue eyes sought out Ruby's silver ones before flickering to Mercury for a moment, eyes wide like a deer in headlights, "...sleep. I...didn't know you were meeting Mercury out here, Ruby."

"We didn't actually plan a meeting," Mercury replied smoothly, "My team and I were just walking around when Ruby happened to come out of her room as we were walking down this hallway."

"Oh. I see," Weiss replied with a halting tone, still slightly in shock to find Ruby and Mercury in such a close proximity, "Well...where's the rest of your team?"

"They went on ahead. Had some errands to run," Mercury shrugged, glancing at Ruby, who was still frozen and staring at Weiss, "Ruby just had to tell me something."

An odd stare off occurred between Mercury and Weiss, and Weiss downcast her eyes, putting two and two together as to what Ruby told him. Ruby desperately tried to find her voice, and she squeaked out, "S-Sorry we disrupted your sleep, Weiss. I-I was just going to talk to the others in JNPR's dorm…"

"So there would be no reason to mention this unexpected meeting to Yang, is there Weiss?" Mercury cut in, arching a brow at the heiress. Weiss stared at him for a long moment again, narrowing her eyes.

Ruby knew Weiss did not react well to other's threatening her, and Mercury's aggressive question was a threat when read closely. Although, Ruby was slightly glad Mercury tried to...protect her, she supposed? Her partner looked ready to retort with just as much bite, but Ruby added, " _Please_ Weiss? I don't want to create another argument with Yang."

Whatever fight Weiss possessed against Mercury seemed to disappear, and her eyes softened when she gazed at Ruby, "Normally I would be against withholding something from the entirety of the team...but I see your point. I won't say anything, Ruby...but you do know you'll have to face her again, right?"

"I know...thanks Weiss," Ruby smiled a bit before turning back to Mercury, who still hadn't let go of her bangs, "I should probably let you go...I'm just gonna…"

Ruby pointed her thumbs over to JNPR's door, and Mercury smirked a little before releasing her hair, mimicking his action from last night by letting his fingers trail along her jaw before his hand dropped back to his side. Flustered, Ruby backed to the door before giving her partner and Mercury one last look before slipping inside. It was silent for a moment, and Mercury and Weiss shared another look. A moment later, Weiss spoke.

"I don't know what you want out of this relationship you formed with Ruby, but just know that if you hurt her, you better hope I get to you before Yang does."

Mercury gazed back blankly, observing the tense posture the heiress adopted. He shook his head, "I'm not going to hurt her."

"Hmph," Weiss scoffed before placing her hand on the handle of the door, "Then let's hope you can own up to your word."

The princess closed the door silently, and Mercury found himself staring at the blank door. He blinked before shaking his head and advancing down the hallway, a troubling thought in his mind.

_I don't think I'll be able to hurt her without feeling at the very least guilty about it...but if Cinder gets to her, I can't do a thing about it._

* * *

A while after Ruby escaped to JNPR's dorm, the group of five had to depart for class and made their way to Goodwitch's combat arena for their combat class. It would seem that Ruby's team had not arrived just yet, and they took their seats. Ruby looked to Pyrrha and asked the redhead, "Hey, isn't your dual with Team CRDL scheduled today?"

"Indeed it is," Pyrrha replied, a slight smile on her lips as she sat between Jaune and Nora, "It should be a challenging match."

"Pfft, you'll take 'em out easy, Pyr," Jaune said with confidence, grinning at his partner, "Just try not to hurt them too bad."

Pyrrha laughed softly as a soft blush appeared across her face, "I appreciate your confidence in me, Jaune."

Nora snorted from beside the amazon warrior and elbowed Ren with a near psychotic look, although that was just Nora's excitement shining through, and Ruby grinned to herself as the two lovebirds that didn't even realize the other was in love talked back and forth. Ruby sighed and sat behind Jaune and Pyrrha, propping her chin in her hand as her elbow rested upon her knee. She watched as the students filed in slowly, until she finally spotted her own team looking around, and Blake with her nose in the notebook Ruby had taken from her sleeping form just a few hours prior. Ruby was just about to call out to her team before she felt someone plop down beside her.

"Hey there, Little Red."

"Oh! Hi Mercury," Ruby smiled at the silver haired teen, though that jittery feeling returned slightly, "How were your classes today?"

"Eh, only had one with Professor Peach. It was alright," Mercury replied blandly, smirking as Emerald took the seat on Ruby's right, "Em was called out by Peach when she was playing on her scroll."

"Mercury, my offer to pay you for five minutes of silence still stands," Emerald bit out with narrowed eyes, growling slightly when he merely smirked back over Ruby's head.

"Nah. You'd miss the sound of it too much."

"I really wouldn't, but you probably would."

"Pfft, nonsense," Mercury leant back and placed his hands behind his head, "You just haven't had to deal with the loss of my melodic tune just yet."

"I survived without it for the majority of my life, believe me," Emerald rolled her eyes, showing Ruby her look of pure annoyance. Ruby giggled slightly at the look.

"You survived, but have you _lived?_ " Mercury quirked a brow, and that's when Ruby laughed outright. Mercury sent her a smirk as her silver eyes looked at him and were filled to the brim with amusement, and he looked back at Emerald as if to say she agrees with me.

Emerald groaned before turning to Ruby, "Please distract me so I don't have to listen to him anymore."

"Well...this here is Team JNPR," Ruby directed her to the four in front of them, and he utterance of their team name caused them all to turn around, "Guys, this is Emerald. She's Mercury's partner."

"HELLO!" Nora yelled, eyes wide in excitement, "I'm Noooora~! Ooooh, do you know Ren makes the yummiest pancakes?! Oh, but he makes them just for me...so don't ask for any!"

"Now Nora, that's not very fair to Emerald," Ren chided with an almost parental tone, but Nora whirled around and lurched into his personal space, causing him to lean back.

_"No one. Else."_

Ruby saw Emerald and Mercury's wary looks, and she commented, "Don't worry about Nora. She's just like that."

"I won't ask for any then," Emerald said quickly before turning to Pyrrha, "Moving on...you must be Pyrrha Nikos. I gotta say, you're a really good fighter."

"Why thank you! And it is a pleasure to meet you, Emerald," Pyrrha smiled, outstretching a hand to shake Emerald's, "If we ever meet in the dueling ring, it will be an honor to gauge my skill against yours."

"Can't wait," Emerald smiled before turning to the dorky blonde, "And you are…?"

"Oh, his name's Jaune," Ruby cut in, a devious intent in her eyes as Jaune caught on quickly and looked at her in absolute horror, "Apparently, it's short, sweet, and roll's off the— MMPH!"

Jaune awkwardly lunged past Emerald and clamped a hand down on Ruby's mouth to stop her from finishing the recitement of his first introduction to her, "Hi there I'm Jaune just ignore what she's saying, she's a little weird y'know? Hehehe…OW!" Jaune retracted his hand as if it were burned, "Did you just bite my hand?!"

Ruby merely smiled, shrugging innocently. Mercury chuckled before asking the blonde, "Does that catchphrase work?"

"Nope!"

_"RUBY!"_

"Do you want me to lie, Vomit Boy?" Ruby grinned cheekily. Jaune narrowed his eyes at the young huntress.

"Oh, so we're going into that territory, are we Crater Face?"

"H-Hey! That wasn't my fault—"

"Let me tell ya a little something about our resident cookie huntress," Jaune barreled over Ruby's complaint and addressed Mercury, "First day, before we even got into the school, Ruby here sneezed because of some burn dust being waved around in her face, and then, boom! An explosion with a lotta fire!" Jaune pat Ruby's head only to be swatted at, " _First. Day._ That's all I'm sayin."

"Is that true?" Emerald raised a brow at Ruby.

"I-It wasn't my fault!" Ruby insisted, "Weiss was angry and she wouldn't stop berating me and she was waving a dust vial in my face that was leaking dust into the air around me and I breathed it in on accident and I sneezed and it wasn't my fault!"

"She's in denial," Jaune shook his head, "Poor thing."

"Shut it Jaune! I'm not the one that threw chunks the minute the airship landed on campus!"

"Motion sickness is common!" Jaune defended.

"Hehe, it's alright gem," Mercury nudged her shoulder with his, "That just means you have a _fiery_ personality."

Ruby blushed at the recurrence of the nickname while the rest of the listeners groaned. Emerald glared at her partner, "I'm going to kill you one day."

"As I've said Em, you'll miss me too much."

At that point, Ruby's team had finally took notice of Ruby and the company she held, and Ruby could tell from the corner of her eye that her teammates were mixed in their reactions. Blake didn't seem to mind at all and merely glanced back at her notebook, taking a seat in front of Pyrrha and Jaune, and Weiss joined her, but not before shooting a warning look at Mercury and a much friendlier look at Ruby. Yang's reaction was what Ruby was most nervous of, however.

The lilac eyed blonde looked between Ruby and Mercury with a disbelieving look before determination set across her face. Her fists clenched, and she stomped over to the group, up past Blake, Weiss, and Team JNPR, and planted herself right behind Ruby and Mercury. Ruby groaned inwardly, glancing at Mercury who had a calm look about him, and he merely winked at her when her nervous eyes found his.

"Hey Rubes, Mercury, how are things?" Yang greeted loudly, though her eyes were dead set on Mercury, danger and threat lurking in the normally soft lilac, "What're you two talking about?"

"Just about how Ruby apparently blew a hole in front of the school the very first day," Mercury said casually, and Ruby spluttered.

" _Accident,_ Mercury! It was an accident!"

"Whatever you say, gem."

Yang's eyes narrowed at the nickname, but didn't say anything about it, "Oh yeah, as if anyone could forget that! I thought Ruby was just being sarcastic when she told me, but then Weiss showed up out of nowhere and started yelling at little Rubes."

"I really don't want to remember that, can everyone please stop reminding me?!" Ruby complained, and Pyrrha placed a comforting hand on Ruby's knee.

"No need to feel ashamed, Ruby. You have grown stronger since that day. Be proud."

"...thanks, Pyrrha," Ruby smiled at the ever positive amazon warrior, "I guess you're right."

At that, the bell rang, signalling that the class started. Professor Goodwitch strut into the room with her tablet tucked into her arm, and she pushed her glasses up on her nose as she turned to address the class.

"Good afternoon class. Now, we have a few scheduled duels for today…"

Ruby let herself focus on the incoming duels at hand. She herself won't be participating in them, but she was certainly excited to see Pyrrha take down CRDL all on her own. She glanced to her left and saw that Mercury was already staring at her, and she smiled.

Even if Yang didn't like the fact she was spending time with Mercury, Ruby didn't care at this point. She had a feeling Mercury would become one of the more interesting friends she's ever made.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Nyx Peridot is Neo's alias. Nyx is goddess of the night in Greek mythology and Peridot is a green gem, matching her eyes


	7. Apparitions

WHAM!

Pyrrha effectively brought Cardin's aura down to below fighting level with her last attack, and she landed in a battle ready pose as her shield returned to her metal arm brace. A moment later, and the lights above the audience lit up, and Pyrrha relaxed as Cardin struggled to stand.

"And that concludes the match. Excellent work, Miss Nikos. You should have no problem qualifying for the tournament."

"Thank you, Professor," Pyrrha bowed her head slightly, smiling at Goodwitch. The blonde professor turned to the rest of her class with a blank look.

"Well that is a tough performance to follow, but we have time for one more match. Are there any volunteers?"

Ruby sighed quietly but didn't raise her hand. She had her fill of action yesterday with her team and Mercury, not to mention she has participated in almost every other combat class she attended. Speaking of which, Emerald and Mercury have been rather quiet since Pyrrha stepped down to duel, and Mercury seemed to have been studying her every move, as if he was trying to find something.

"I'll do it."

Mercury's hand rose before Goodwitch could force Blake into participating, and Ruby blinked before looking at the silver haired teen. A lazy look was on his face as Goodwitch addressed him, and he brought his hand to his chin as his eyes scanned all his possible opponents.

"Mercury, is it? Hmm. Well, let's find you an opponent," Goodwitch went to hit the randomizer, but Mercury interrupted yet again.

"Actually, I wanna fight…" His eyes roamed over everyone again, stopping at Ruby for a long moment with a slight smirk before he pointed to the redhead still in the arena, "Her."

"Me?"

"Miss Nikos has just finished a duel. I would suggest that you pick someone else."

"Oh, no it's fine!" Pyrrha held up a hand to the professor before turning to address Mercury, "I would be happy to oblige!"

"Hmph. Perfect," Mercury murmured before leaning over to Ruby quickly, "Wish me luck, gem."

Ruby ducked her head a little as Mercury stood, and she watched as he made his way down to the dueling ring. She looked at Emerald who merely shrugged her shoulders with a smile, and Ruby furrowed her brows.

"Why does Mercury want to fight Pyrrha?"

"Merc likes to challenge himself," Emerald shrugged again, crafting a lie in her head, "Pyrrha is one of the more experienced fighters here, and he sees her as the best challenge I guess."

"Hm. Makes sense," Ruby nodded before focusing on the match that was about to commence.

Mercury was the one to attack first. He seemed rather cautious in his movements, taking long pauses to study Pyrrha before racing forward, forcing her into a defensive stance as he released a flurry of kicks, all of them blocked by Akoúọ. Eventually, Pyrrha was pushed back by a series of bicycle kicks by Mercury before she blocked the kick going towards her face with her arm. Mercury paused for a moment before attacking again, and Pyrrha blocked most hits...that is, until Milό was kicked from her grasp and spiked into the ground a few feet away.

"Wow…" Ruby murmured before nudging Emerald, "He's doing really good."

Emerald said nothing in return, and Ruby watched as Pyrrha deflected a kick with the subtle use of her semblance, something that someone would not pick it up unless they had prior knowledge. Ruby smiled a bit, leaning forward in entertainment. Mercury used his boots to push off Pyrrha's shield and watched her advance forward quickly, and she was about to hit him—

But suddenly he just wasn't _there_ anymore.

Ruby watched as Mercury used his boots to propel himself in the air, twisting his body around so he could keep an eye on his opponent, and he shot off a few dust rounds from his boots at Pyrrha, who deflected them with her shield. Pyrrha shifted Miló into its rifle form and fired a few shots at Mercury, who landed on the ground and dodged by running in a circle around Pyrrha, leaning his body to the right so far that his torso nearly touched the ground, and then rocketed towards Pyrrha and hit Milό right out of her hands yet again. Pyrrha used her semblance with more force this time, directing Mercury's boots to fling upwards as she retreated to her weapon, but Mercury hardly seemed fazed, merely using the momentum to flip and land on his feet yet again.

Pyrrha threw her shield towards Mercury, who dodged and began to advance, but Pyrrha gripped Akoúọ with her semblance, directing it to turn in its path and race towards Mercury yet again. The shield hit against Mercury's boots and he was swept off his feet. Pyrrha dashed forward and slashed at his aura a few times with Miló in its xiphos form, bringing Mercury's aura down to seventy percent. Mercury retaliated by planting his hand on the floor and swinging both legs around, giving Pyrrha barely enough time to bring up her arm up to block the hit. It sent her aura down by ten percent as well, and Pyrrha narrowed her eyes.

"Hey Emerald…" Ruby whispered to the green haired teen, "What year are you in Mercury in currently?"

"We're second years," Emerald replied promptly, both watching as Mercury and Pyrrha exchanged blows, "Though Mercury was trained outside of the kingdoms when he was young by his father."

"Oh."

That certainly explained how Mercury could hold his own against Pyrrha. Ruby watched in awe as the battle continued on, aura levels of both Mercury and Pyrrha dropping steadily as neither wanted to give in. Mercury went to jump up and smack both his heels against Pyrrha's shield again, but Pyrrha rolled out of the way, gripping his boots with her semblance and propelling him past her at a slow enough pace that the onlookers wouldn't suspect that her semblance was meddling with his propulsion. He slammed into the wall behind her, aura dipping to just below red.

"And that concludes the match! Pyrrha Nikos is the victor again," Goodwitch spoke up quickly, strutting forward as Pyrrha gathered her weapons and Mercury stood up slowly, "Excellent demonstration you two. I am pleasantly surprised with your adaptability to Miss Nikos' fighting style, Mr. Black."

"Thanks Professor," Mercury raised one hand before sauntering off to the locker rooms along with Pyrrha.

The bell signalling the class has ended rang, and Ruby stood as Goodwitch put in some last words. Ruby smiled at Emerald, "Mercury did great out there, Em! Not many can get Pyrrha's aura down that low, let alone hit her!"

"Yeah, that was a pretty good fight," Jaune added as he turned to the two girls.

"I'm sure Merc will appreciate your compliments," Emerald smiled before walking with Ruby towards the exit, "You can tell him yourself if you'd like, since we don't have any more classes after this."

Before Ruby could reply, a stomping foot caught their attention, and Emerald groaned at the person standing in the entrance of the dueling arena. Her green eyes drilled holes into Emerald's red ones, and the mint haired girl slapped her forehead.

"Hey, don't give me that look! It's not my turn!"

Nyx pouted before looking over at Ruby, who cocked a brow in confusion, "What's wrong, Nyx?"

Hurriedly, Nyx took out her scroll and typed her answer before handing it over to Ruby. Ruby looked at the message and smiled.

"Well I can go with you!" Ruby exclaimed happily before remembering all of her friends behind her didn't know who Nyx is, "Oh, Nyx, this is my team as well as Team JNPR...well, minus Pyrrha, she's in the locker room right now. Everyone, this is Nyx Peridot. She's on Emerald's team."

"HI THERE!" Nora exclaimed, approaching the shorter girl and leaning in close, causing Nyx to lean back and blink at the ginger, "I'm Nora, and that's Ren, and that's Jaune—"

"Who's name is short, sweet, and rolls off the tongue. And apparently the ladies love it!" Ruby chirped quickly.

"Can you stop telling people that?!" Jaune whined.

Nyx waved her scroll in Ruby and Jaune's face, _{Do they love it?}_

"Pyrrha does," Ruby giggled.

"Oh my god…" Jaune slapped his forehead with his hand, "I'm just gonna go now…"

Ruby giggled as Jaune weakly waved goodbye as he walked out of the building, and Ren pulled Nora away from Nyx with the promise that he would bake something for the energetic girl. Blake gave them all a strained smile before following after, and Weiss frowned after the cat faunus.

"She's still stressed over it, isn't she?" Weiss mentioned to Ruby, who nodded sadly.

"Yeah...she fell asleep while writing in her notebook again."

Weiss sighed, "I'll keep an eye on her while you're out with Nyx. It was nice meeting you," Weiss nodded once to the short girl, who waved at her while she walked away.

_{So, where is Mercury?}_

"He should be out in a minute," Emerald replied, rolling her eyes, "He's probably fixing his hair or something."

Ruby snickered, "Seriously?"

Emerald shrugged, but a small smile formed on her face. Footsteps behind them reminded Ruby that one of her team had not left yet, and Ruby turned to her sister, still slightly wary of her, "Yang, this is Nyx."

The blonde approached Nyx with a warm smile, but it faltered a bit as Nyx shook her hand daintily, and Yang cocked her head in confusion, "I'm sorry...you look really familiar. Have we met before?"

Unknown to Ruby and Yang, Emerald tensed up as Nyx merely smiled sweetly and shook her head, typing in her scroll and holding it up for Yang to see. Yang formed her mouth into the shape of an 'o' and nodded her head.

"That makes sense. Rubes and I pass by that vendor all the time when going to her favorite weapon store."

"What's going on?" Ruby questioned.

Nyx smiled, _{Yang might have seen me at the ice cream vendor in the city, so I look familiar}_

"Oh, the one by Dust 'Til Dawn?" Ruby asked as Nyx nodded in affirmative, "Oh yeah, we go there all the time! They have the best milkshakes!"

Nyx's eyes were as wide as saucers at the mere thought, and Ruby giggled. Nyx typed on her scroll again and showed it to Ruby.

{If Mercury ever gets out here can we go there?}

"Sure. He should be out soon…"

* * *

_…Meanwhile…_

Mercury watched as Pyrrha stored her weapons inside her locker with great care, rocking back on one foot as he examined her. The Invincible Girl…Mercury resisted barking out a laugh. Not quite…

"So, Nikos right?"

Pyrrha turned, surprised to see him there, and nodded once, "Yes. Pyrrha Nikos. And I must say, that was an exhilarating match, Mercury. Your skill is impressive."

"Hmph," Mercury shrugged, "I didn't go all out."

Pyrrha blinked, "…why not?"

"Well, you are the Invincible Girl," Mercury noted that Pyrrha flinched slightly at the name, "I just wanted to find out what made you so invincible."

"…And did you find what you were looking for?"

"You're lucky to have that semblance in a world where almost every weapon is made of metal," Mercury smirked as her eyes widened in alarm, "And I know that if you let your semblance go all out, I would've been out a lot quicker. I'm just curious as to why you try to be subtle about it."

"I...suppose that I don't have a good reason," Pyrrha shrugged, closing her locker gently before facing him, "The way I think of it...my semblance is very useful in combat, but if I were to use it constantly, I wouldn't truly know how to fight, not to mention I would not be able to maintain my aura levels for very long in combat due to constant use of my semblance."

"So basically you're challenging yourself by not using your semblance?"

"…I guess that is a good way to state it," Pyrrha nodded, beginning to walk slowly towards the exit. As she kept talking, Mercury fell in step with her, "That, and because the Grimm do not use weapons. They themselves are the weapons. When I fight them, I only have my allies and my own ability at my disposal. In practicing restraint over my semblance, I can focus on other aspects of combat."

Mercury made a contemplative frown as he placed his hands on his hips, eyeing the amazon warrior with slight curiosity, "Really? That's not the only reason you try to hide it?"

Pyrrha downcast her eyes, "Well…"

He talked over her, trying to push down his slight annoyance, "I assumed you didn't want to downplay the fame of being a world renowned fighter."

"Not the fame, necessarily," Pyrrha fiddled with the end of her gloves, "I don't want to be classified as the girl who cheated to become a skilled huntress. I just want to be a huntress, period. The fame wasn't exactly planned."

He furrowed his brows, surprised at her answer. He assumed she hid her ace card to ensure victory and make herself to be at a skill level she really wasn't, but her reasoning went farther than that. His respect for the amazon warrior increased slightly, but his thoughts on her didn't matter.

It only mattered that Cinder was interested in her. And why she was interested in the first place.

Mercury shook his head slightly to rid his mind of his thoughts, responding to Pyrrha a moment later, "…well, I won't tattle, Nikos."

"I appreciate that Mercury, truly," Pyrrha bowed her head slightly, "Only my team and Ruby's team knows of it… actually, I'm surprised you managed to pinpoint my semblance so quickly. How did you do that?"

Mercury smirked, "Well, I'd have to tell you my own semblance to answer that question."

Pyrrha's eyes widened in surprise, "Oh, is your semblance observational?"

"Not even close," Mercury replied with a shake of his head, blinking in surprise at what greeted them at the entrance of the dueling ring, "Uh… what are you doing here Nyx?"

Emerald, Ruby, Yang, and Nyx all turned to Mercury, all with varying expressions. Nyx looked furious while Yang was still suspicious, and Ruby smiled and waved at him. Emerald just looked plain annoyed (big surprise).

The small girl stomped up to him and shoved her scroll in his face, _{It's your turn to get me ice cream! We developed a system remember?!}_

Mercury felt annoyance take over yet again, and he rolled his eyes, "Yeah, but I was busy. So was Em. And Cinder."

_{You're not busy now}_

"…You're seriously forcing me to go out and buy ice cream for you. Right now."

"Come on Mercury, it'll be fun!" Ruby exclaimed, standing beside Nyx, "I know the perfect place too! And I can show you some of Vale's landmarks on the way."

He was a bit surprised to hear Ruby was tagging along, and he would be lying if he denied that her coming along didn't give him some incentive. He shrugged nonchalantly though, sighing, "Fine, let's get going. And… nice talking with you, Nikos."

"The pleasure is all mine," Pyrrha replied cordially, "And enjoy your small outing!"

The sincere tone in her voice was something Mercury had to resist scoffing at, and the insistent tapping of Nyx's foot prompted him to move forward, catching Ruby's eye, "Well, we should get going. C'mon Ruby."

"Okay, follow me! I know the way," Ruby smiled before falling in step with Nyx, and Mercury raised a curious brow before moving to follow them. He was stopped by a hard grip on his arm.

"You and I are having a talk after you get back," Yang said lowly, her lilac eyes demanding and cold. Mercury hid his annoyance with a smirk.

"Will do... _Xiao Long_ , Yang," He chuckled before shrugging off her hand and walking swiftly, not letting her have the chance to top his pun. He caught up to the two girls, throwing his arms over them both as he wedged himself between them, "Let's go ladies."

"We were the ones waiting up for you," Ruby giggled as Nyx glared lightly at him. Nyx's eyes flashed to brown and pink for a moment while Ruby's eyes were facing forward, and the villain in disguise winked at him with a smirk before flicking her eyes to Ruby for a millisecond. Mercury glared as her eyes flashed back to green.

Deciding not to provoke the ice cream enthusiast with Ruby listening in, he ignored Nyx's unspoken question and merely let Ruby be their guide to the ice cream vendor. As Ruby lead them, she pointed out landmarks and chattered animatedly, Mercury making noises of acknowledgement at the time while Nyx became giddier the closer they were to their destination. Eventually, they turned the corner and the stand came into view.

"Here it is!" Ruby exclaimed, jolting suddenly when Nyx hugged her quickly before darting off to the stall. Ruby chuckled before looking at Mercury, "She really likes ice cream doesn't she?"

"Neapolitan ice cream is her religion," Mercury commented dryly before holding his arm out to the red caped girl, grinning slyly, "May I escort you to the line, m'lady?"

Ruby blushed the same red as her cape before hooking her arm through his, "Y-You may."

Smirking, Mercury began walking with Ruby to the stand, and he reached into his pocket for his wallet with his free hand only to find the pocket empty. Rather than being confused, he rolled his eyes and glanced at Nyx, who held up the black leather square that was his wallet up with a large grin. Mercury growled lowly but said nothing. If there was one thing he and Torchwick agreed on, it was that having partners with illusion/manipulation semblances can really hurt their wallet money. And then there's Cinder who'll just take their money because she can.

How he isn't broke by this point he will never know.

They quickly got their ice cream (neapolitan for Nyx, vanilla for Mercury, and strawberry for Ruby) and took one of the tables in front of the stall. Ruby looked at her spoon for a moment before holding it up toward Mercury.

"Look at the resemblance," Ruby teased, and Nyx blinked before smiling and nodding at the redhead, giving her a thumbs up. Mercury scowled.

"Ha ha, very funny, Ruby," He braced his elbow on the table, "If we're going into that, then Emerald is basically mint chocolate chip."

Ruby giggled behind her hand as Nyx typed in her scroll, _{What would Cinder be?}_

"…she wouldn't be an ice cream flavor," Mercury frowned, wondering why he was entertaining this conversation. Ruby's laughter was infectious however, and he wanted to hear it again, "She'd be a candy, like…hot tamales."

Ruby cocked her head in curiosity while Nyx laughed silently.

"She has a problem with her temper, gem."

"Oh. She didn't seem so bad when I talked with her…" Ruby trailed off.

"That was a two minute conversation at most and then she bailed," Mercury pointed out, finding himself relaxing now that he didn't need to be on constant vigil for weaknesses like when on campus, "And she directed you to talk to us as soon as she could. She isn't very social and it doesn't take much to get her riled up."

Nyx agreed with the statement with a vigorous nod of her head, not bothered by the fact that Mercury just insulted their boss. She was just sticking around because Torchwick was being forced to help basically, and she took every chance she could to insult the fire queen.

_{And she's not a morning person! I make it a point to be extra cheery around her then}_

Ruby laughed at Nyx's message, "That sounds just like Weiss. If she doesn't get her beauty sleep or if we wake her up early, she's super grumpy."

"...So do you guys wake her up early every day?"

Ruby gasped, hitting Mercury's arm, "Hey, that's not nice! And really, Weiss is a good person when you get to know her. I guess you just need something to break the ice I guess," Her eyes suddenly widened, seeing Mercury's devilish look, "W-Wait don't—"

"Break the _Weiss_ , huh? Well, she could have come with us and gotten some _Weiss_ cream and she could've tried to open up more. Oh well," Mercury smirked as Ruby groaned, "What's wrong Little Red? Can't take the puns?"

"Please stop. I hear it enough from Yang," Ruby whined. Nyx shoved her scroll into his face, a look of alarm in her eyes.

Mercury frowned, glancing at the message, and his eyes widened. As he spotted Ruby with her eyes covered, he mouthed _where._

_{Look past Ruby. He's using his semblance}_

The silver haired teen did as instructed, looking past Ruby and squinting before he glared. He could just barely spot it, but the almost ghost-like apparition of a man stood a ways away, leaning against the side of a building and peering out from the alley. Mercury cast a look at Nyx, and she pursed her lips before nodding slowly.

"What're you two looking at?" Ruby asked in confusion once she uncovered her eyes. She went to turn and look, but Mercury felt time slow around him as he thought. Nyx was the only other one unaffected by the change in time in the vicinity, and she looked at Mercury in alarm before typing in her scroll as fast as her fingers could move, showing it to him.

_{If you don't think of something to reel her attention away from him fast she's going to spot him}_

Mercury narrowed his eyes before looking at Ruby. Nyx was right, since the girl had the keenest observational skills he has ever seen when it comes to spotting things like weapons. One thing came to his mind that would definitely fluster the girl to the point that she won't be able to focus on anything, considering how innocent and inexperienced she was. Mercury swiped his wallet from Nyx before pulling out some lien and leaning toward Ruby.

Time seemed to go back to normal as Mercury's lips pressed against Ruby's cheek, and she gasped quietly as he pulled away. It seemed to have worked, since her cheeks were a bright crimson and her eyes were wide with disbelief. Mercury plastered on a confident smirk before taking her hand and placing the lien in her palm.

"Go get yourself a strawberry sundae, gem. I have to make a call real quick."

"I-I...o-okay…"

Ruby got up slowly before smiling bashfully at Mercury, who played his part well by keeping his cool and winking at her. As she turned away, his mask dropped and he glared heatedly at the man in the alley.

"C'mon Neo…" Mercury mumbled, dropping her alias and standing from his seat, stomping over to the alley. He could hear Nyx's light footfalls behind him, but he focused on the man he pushed into the alley with anything but gentleness and snarled out, "What are you doing here, Slate?"

"What? Not happy to see me Mercury?" The man chuckled, his body turning back to a more solid form and losing its ghostly state. His murky green eyes held mischief as he turned to the ice cream girl, "And hello to you, Ice Cream Queen."

_{Don't try to win me over with flattery, Tyrian}_

Tyrian Slate was yet another associate to Cinder, but he hardly showed up to meetings and mostly went around scouring Vale for whatever he wished. His loyalty to Cinder was only through her wallet, and Cinder knew it, so he was very loosely informed, just as Torchwick is.

He was a dark skinned man and stood at six feet. He wore a gothic long purple coat with no buttons, and the fabric reached to the knees at the front while it extended halfway down the calves in the back. Underneath he wore a sleeveless black shirt with three snarling dog heads stacked into a triangle in green on the fabric over his heart. He also wore black pants and boots that reached the mid-calf with purple laces, and on his head was a steel helmet with large gaps in the metal. Large portions of his skull were exposed while a strip of the steel came down to cover his nose, and his deep purple hair was slicked back and could be seen clearly through the almost skeletal-like helmet. His weapon was folded up and stuck in his silver belt, the thin rectangle shape resting on his left thigh.

"Answer the question, Slate," Mercury growled, his eyes darkening with anger until they were practically black orbs, "You could potentially screw up our entire operation by just being here."

"What are you talking about? I haven't committed any crimes," Slate paused for a second, thinking, "Well, any crimes in Vale that is."

Mercury stared at him for a while longer before rolling his eyes, knowing what Slate was waiting for, and held out some lien towards the purple haired man in annoyance, seeing his wide grin as he quickly pocketed the lien and answered, "To put it bluntly, I'm spying on you."

"I could have never guessed," Mercury deadpanned.

Slate rolled his eyes, "Don't be like that man. Adam asked me to figure out what your doing with Red Riding Hood over there."

Nyx jumped and waved her scroll in the air to get the men's attention, _{How did he manage that?}_

"Slate will do anything for money, Neo," Mercury crossed his arms and scowled.

"Hey man, I ain't the only person in the world that's like that," Slate defended himself with a scowl, "Adam knows Little Red is the leader of the team that some chick called Belladonna is on. He's obsessed with her."

"Bella— You mean Blake?" Mercury stated with some surprise, "I mean, I know she's a faunus but what does he want with her?"

Slate smirked knowingly, leaning in conspiratorially as he said lowly, "Turns out Miss Belladonna was one of his high ranked officers in the White Fang. Better yet, she was his sweetheart. He's mighty unhappy that she decided to split, and he wants to find a way to get to her. And I can see that you are having a grand time with her leader there."

"It's my job to spend time with the brat, Slate," Mercury growled, but he felt a twinge in his chest at that statement. Ruby wasn't anything close to a brat, but he didn't let his inner thoughts show on his face, keeping his face cold and impersonal, "And I don't work for Adam. I work for the same person he does. Whatever he wants from Blake isn't happening through me, so you can go running back to your employer for the hour and tell him that."

"Tch, he ain't gonna be happy about that."

"And that's not my problem. Come on Neo, Ruby's probably gotten her sundae by now," Mercury urged the small girl, beginning to walk back towards their table.

"So Ruby's her name, huh?"

Mercury's frame stiffened, an odd feeling of protectiveness bubbling up in his chest, and he turned to stare at Slate with as much hatred as he could manage, which was a lot considering who it was he was glaring at. Slate merely held up his hands before grinning and turning into a ghostly state yet again and walking back down the alleyway.

An uneasiness formed in his gut, and he barely registered Nyx tapping on his arm. She held her scroll up to him, the rare expression of concern on her face.

_{You okay?}_

He cleared his throat and scoffed, "Course I am. Why wouldn't I be? Slate's just being a lap dog for some extra lien, what's new?"

As he took his seat, Nyx cocked her head at him and examined him critically. Her eyes widened, and she threw herself violently into her seat before typing out a rapid response.

_{You actually care about her! I can see it on your face!}_

"No I don't. You're seeing things, Neo," Mercury growled, though the seed of doubt had already planted itself. He would be lying if he said it didn't pull at his heartstrings just a little at the thought of Ruby being hurt. _Wait, what? That shouldn't concern me at all! No, I don't care for her...I don't._

_{We don't normally get along that well...but I won't tell Cinder anything. My loyalty isn't to her anyway}_

He went to protest, but he found himself caught up in his thoughts. Had she really gotten under his skin that easily? That shouldn't be possible, it couldn't be possible. She was a huntress, the very thing he wanted to see suffer. Then why is it when the possibility of her being used by Adam of all people to get to her team seem so vile? He shouldn't care…

_{Ruby's coming back now}_

Mercury looked over to see Ruby with a sundae in hand and three clean spoons in her other hand. She set the sundae in the middle of the table before holding up the three spoons.

"Uh, if you guys want some…" Ruby trailed off, still flustered slightly by Mercury's kiss. She set the spoons down as her eyes danced around to anything but Mercury.

"I…think I'm good. Thanks anyway Ruby," Mercury mumbled, his appetite now lost. Nyx raised a concerned brow while Ruby glanced at him.

"Did your call go okay?" Ruby asked worriedly, "You look kind of pale."

"Don't worry about it," Mercury coughed into the bend of his arm before rubbing his temple with his pointer and middle fingers.

Nyx went to type out something for Ruby, but stopped when Ruby tentatively placed her hand on top of Mercury's hand that rested on the tabletop. He blinked slowly before his eyes looked at their hands and then at Ruby, who forced her flustered nature aside.

"Mercury, you can tell me if something's bothering you if you want. Maybe I can help."

He felt a pressure in his chest as she said that. What was going on? What was she doing to him? Nyx was staring at their hands with a giddy smile, but Mercury didn't even register her presence now. Ruby had effectively caught his attention and now he was unable to tear himself away, and despite the clashing sides of himself, he knew he had to answer her with something.

_…y'know what? Screw it._

Mercury turned his hand so he could curl his fingers around hers, their palms pressing together as Ruby stared at him with wide eyes. He felt his mouth twitch into a sideways smile, and he couldn't deny that it was genuine.

"You already are, gem."

Ruby couldn't seem to form a reply, her mouth open but no words escaping it, and they heard a small squeal from the side. They both turned to Nyx, who had her scroll out and her mouth covered with her free hand. She snapped a photo and Ruby found her voice.

"W-What's that for?!"

_{For me because what I just witnessed was adorable}_

Mercury laughed as Ruby fumbled her words some more, and he felt surprisingly at peace now. He didn't feel the pressure of his boss pushing down on him nor the annoyed looks from his partner. And Nyx, whom normally avoided them like the plague, had shown her more human side to both him and Ruby. Today was an…interesting day.

Then he remembered. Yang was going to have a talk with him once he returned. He glanced at Ruby's hand that was still in his.

Well… that'll be interesting.


	8. The Gauntlets and the Greaves

The walk back to Beacon was fairly uneventful. Nyx kept a goofy smile on her face as she skipped around, satisfied that she had gotten her ice cream, and Mercury saw no sign of Slate after leaving the stand. Ruby had stayed by his side ever since they left, and their hands brushed together from time to time.

Mercury was still conflicted over these new… _feelings_. He held no love for the huntsmen, that much he knew, but Ruby seemed to break every aspect of a huntress that he despised. She didn't seem to crave fame like most, and she didn't boast about her achievements like most did. She was such a… a _pure_ soul, someone so innocent and friendly that he couldn't comprehend that she was training to become a huntress. Now that he thought about it, he didn't know why Ruby wanted to become a huntress. If she didn't have the same reasoning as the other trainees…what was her reasoning?

Mercury nudged her arm with his own, gaining the silver eyed huntress' attention, "Ruby, why do you want to become a huntress?"

Nyx turned her head slightly to look at them as Ruby blinked before replying, "Well, I want to help people."

The simplicity of her statement caught him off guard, "…Really?"

"Yeah. When I was younger, before bed Yang would sit down and read to me all these fairytales about these heroes swooping in, slaying the monsters, and saving everyone. I want to do the same," Ruby shrugged as she said this, smiling a little, "Why do you ask?"

Mercury furrowed his brows in thought, mumbling, "Just curious… so, you want to be a hero?"

"I don't need to be titled a hero. I just want to try my best to keep people safe," Ruby explained, "What about you, Mercury? Why are you training?"

"I train to fight because I don't want to be put in a position where I need to and I can't," He replied monotonously, the line having been rehearsed multiple times should the question ever be asked. However, he knew that it was partly true. Helplessness was not a feeling he wanted to experience anytime soon.

As they stepped through the front gates of Beacon Academy, Ruby frowned slightly, a hesitant look on her face. Mercury didn't see this, since he saw a quickly approaching mane of golden hair.

"Mercury, I was talking with Emerald in the arena today… and she mentioned that you were trained outside of the kingdoms. Where's—"

Ruby's question was interrupted by Mercury, who clutched her shoulder for a moment, gesturing in front of them to alert the girl to Yang's presence. Ruby's mouth snapped shut, a feeling of dread curdling in her stomach.

"Maybe you should stay back here with Nyx while I talk to Yang," Mercury suggested, a bubble of concern for the silver eyed girl rising in him. He shook his head, grimacing before turning to Yang. He made it a few paces toward her before he felt a tugging on the bottom of his shirt.

"Uh, Mercury...whatever she says don't take it personally, okay? She's just protective of me," Ruby said timidly, silver eyes blinking up at him. He grinned slightly to ease her nervousness.

"I'll be okay, gem."

He reached up to ruffle her hair, an action that she glared half-heartedly toward and pouted a bit, but said nothing against. Giving her one last grin before turning to the volatile blonde staring at him, Mercury schooled his expression and walked forward to meet the lilac eyed teen.

"Yang. What did you want to talk about?" He asked as he came close enough for her to hear.

"I think you might already know," Yang replied with a raised brow, making a pointed look toward the redhead behind him. He sighed, knowing this conversation was inevitable, but it didn't make it any less annoying.

"What about Ruby did you want to talk about?" He elaborated, all the while keeping a stony mask on. Yang narrowed her eyes.

"I don't know what your intentions are, but that right there is my little sister. My fifteen year old little sister," Yang stressed, walking towards him slowly, "And I don't trust you with her despite what Ruby says."

"So you're saying you don't trust your sister's word?" The dry comeback bubbled up automatically, reflexively, and he immediately knew it was a mistake to say it. Foot in mouth, Mercury. That was the worst thing you could have said.

" _Excuse me?!_ " Yang demanded, her eyes flickering to red for a split second, "I trust my sister with my life, but I don't trust you around her! Don't twist my words around you little—"

"Alright alright, I didn't mean it," Mercury interrupted, raising his hands in surrender. He was in dangerous territory now, and even if he got Yang off his back there was still the lingering threat of Tyrian Slate. Normally he wouldn't pay any mind to the mild annoyance of a man that he was but the way he mentioned Ruby's name with a devilish curiosity unnerved him to no end.

"Uh-huh, whatever," Yang huffed in annoyance, regarding him with a critical eye, "Why are you so interested in my sister?"

Mercury raised one brow at her, "Uh… she's friendly? Nice?"

Yang narrowed her eyes, "Listen Mercury, I don't know what's up with you, but I don't want you around her. I let you have this little outing today, but I'm drawing the line here. Ruby just isn't ready for anything like this."

"She never will be if you keep sheltering her like this," Mercury snapped without thinking, and the consequences of that statement already stacked in his head. _That… made it sound like I was interested in her romantically. Well, that's not good._

"So you are interested in her? I was right?" Yang had a glint in her eye, one that told him she was searching for the answer already, hoping to prove her suspicions, "What, do you want to date her or something? You two just met!"

"I didn't say that," Mercury stated calmly, muscles tense and ready to dodge a punch should Yang let her temper get to her head, "I just meant that maybe you should lay off a little bit. She cares about your opinion, and it hurt her that you were so adamantly against her friendship with me."

"I don't mean to hurt her!" Yang protested, an inkling of fear in her eyes, "I'm just protecting her! I don't want her swooning over the first suave boy she meets, and that happens to be _you._ "

Mercury frowned at the blonde, wondering if she was this paranoid about boys around her little sister all the time. He huffed slightly, more than fed up with this fruitless argument that wouldn't have a beneficial outcome for him by how it was going, and said frankly, "Well I don't know why you're being this crazy about it since it's not your life, but I'm not going to stop talking with her just because some pushy big sister thinks she knows best when in reality she's just making her little sister miserable."

It felt good to say it, and he had to hold back a grin at the pure rage in Yang's eyes at being accused of such a thing. The thrill of the fight began to pump through his veins, feeding into his aura and gearing him up for a brawl, but the weight of a small silver haired girl on his conscience kept him from showing this excitement outwardly. He couldn't care less about Yang, or about the other students he had talked to really beyond gaining some respect for them, but a part of him, a small part of him, felt horrible for doing this to Ruby's sister. If it were someone the small redhead didn't know, he probably wouldn't bat an eyelash.

He didn't know what his little gem was doing to him…but he knew that he didn't want to let go of her just yet. He wanted to know more. And not just more information to report to Cinder… but actually try to understand her. It was a new feeling, an odd feeling, but he found that he wanted to give it a try.

It was dangerous, that he knew. But…he just didn't _care._

But right now, the most pressing of problems was the blonde in front of him vibrating with anger. He should really learn to shut his mouth around these kids.

Then rose petals floated in front of him, and the small huntress was standing tall in front of him.

* * *

…Moments Before…

Ruby watched with a nervous feeling as Mercury walked toward Yang at a leisurely pace, turning only when she felt Nyx tap on her shoulder. The green eyed girl held up her scroll for Ruby to read.

_{Your sister is really protective of you, huh?}_

"Yeah...so is my dad, and I'm not sure which is more scary," Ruby sighed, shrugging as she looked to the ground, "It's just difficult at some times. I love her, but sometimes she goes too far."

_{And this is one of those times}_

"Exactly," Ruby nodded, "I get why she might be wary of Mercury, but she's getting a little too crazy about it. I… don't know why."

_{Maybe she's just afraid that you're growing up}_

"Come again?"

Nyx typed rapidly into her scroll, glancing around from time to time before holding up the device to Ruby, {Well, she is your big sister. She's been two years ahead of you for a while, and now suddenly you're jumped ahead and her equal when it comes to training. So yeah, she may be proud of you for that, but it's like she's starting to lose her job, y'know?}

Ruby blinked slowly, "I'm...not sure I follow."

_{By the way she acts with you, it's safe to assume she was primarily the one that helped raise you?}_ A head nod and Nyx typed more, _{Well, if she's been your caretaker all this time, it has to be scary to suddenly see that you don't need her to baby you anymore. Like, she wants things to stay the way they are, but they can't. And this is her way of kind of keeping you in that position}_

"So...it's like a mother-daughter thing only, like, big sister-little sister?"

_{Exactly. Yang is proud that you're growing up, but at the same time a part of her doesn't want you to because she likes taking care of you}_

Ruby frowned as she processed what Nyx was saying, and glanced at Yang and Mercury, who were still exchanging words. Nyx might be onto something here… since Yang did have to step up to take care of her once mom…

"How'd you figure that out so fast?"

_{Psychology is interesting to me}_

Ruby smiled slightly at the shorter girl, "Thanks, Nyx. Maybe I can try and make Yang understand now that I know that."

Nyx merely smirked and winked at her before directing her eyes toward the duo in a heated conversation, and Ruby watched in surprise as Neo's left eye turned a pale white for a moment before phasing back to green. Frowning, Nyx typed out a quick message and showed it to Ruby.

_{Yang looks like she's about to kill him. You might have to intervene}_

Ruby glanced at her sister, seeing her golden hair swaying with fiery tendrils swishing around her head, and Ruby sighed, "That didn't take too long now did it?"

_{Mercury tends to suffer from the incurable disease of Foot in Mouth Syndrome when it comes to his dry wit}_

Not wasting another second, Ruby used her semblance to speed in between her sister and her friend, her cape snapping back towards her body as her inertia suddenly halted, rose petals gliding past her as silver locked with lilac, and despite the anger that Yang's eyes held toward Mercury softened when glancing at Ruby, the red cloaked girl felt a surge of protectiveness in her chest towards Mercury.

"Yang…"

"Sis, this is between Mercury and I. We'll be done talking soon, I promise," Yang tried to direct her away, but Ruby stood firm.

"No, you're trying to talk him out of hanging out with me! Didn't I make it clear just yesterday night? No matter what you try to do I'm going to spend time with him, so _please_ stop!"

Ruby didn't want to fight with her sister yet again, but Yang was leaving her with no choice. She was ready to give a multitude of reasons for Yang to back down, and she was readying herself to voice them, but she closed her mouth at hearing Mercury shift on his feet behind her.

Mercury glanced between the two sisters with a frown. It was clear neither were going to back down, and he sighed when he realized he would have to be the one to break them apart somehow. He could think of only one solution, and it wasn't one he felt keen on taking, but he felt himself saying the words before he could ponder further.

"Look, I can see that this is causing some problems, so...Ruby and I will stop talking."

The sisters both turned to him as Nyx squeaked from behind him. He thought it would be simpler this way, since really, he didn't think he could learn much more from Ruby's group of friends, and it would take a lot of attention off of himself. Despite this, he couldn't help but feel saddened, a feeling that both perplexed and put him on edge.

"What?" Ruby asked in a small voice, sterling silver eyes shining as her expression slowly crumbled. Mercury swallowed, the heartbroken look on her face disturbing him.

"If your sister is this insistent, then I might as well leave you alone for at least a little while," Mercury explained, "I know how important your sister is to you. Don't let me ruin your relationship."

It left a bad taste in his mouth, trying to convince Ruby to listen to her sister like this. Ruby was an enigma to him despite her being so open. He didn't understand why she cared, or why she seemed so attached to him in the short span of time she had known him. He didn't understand how she embedded herself underneath his skin when he had kept everyone out for years. He wanted to figure it out but he just couldn't, and forcing this complex puzzle away was harder than he ever imagined.

He had to though. Cinder's agenda always comes first, and he didn't want to find out what she would do if a sibling quarrel caused by him disrupted her plans.

A force hit his stomach, surprisingly strong arms winding around his waist and refusing to let go. His first instinct was to tense and attack, but when he looked down, he spotted a bob of red and black hair resting on his chest.

" _No!_ I don't want to just pretend you don't exist!"

Mercury gaped at the girl, his surroundings bleeding away until she had all of his attention, "Ruby—"

"Mercury, _please!_ " Ruby cried, pulling away to look up at him and show the tears threatening to spill over and fall down her cheeks, "Y-You're my friend and I don't want to throw that away! Don't listen to her, she's just being her overprotective self and refusing to see that you're a good person!"

"I…" Mercury shook his head to clear his thoughts, feeling his heart break a little at Ruby's desperate attempts to sway him. It just didn't look right on her, that crumbled expression, since he was so used to the smiley and bubbly Little Red he's always seen. He wanted to ask why she thought of him in such a high regard, why she would risk her relationship with her own sister for him, but he knew he couldn't ask her with an audience. And he knew that this was turning dangerous, and he had to break away soon if not immediately…

"Ruby...I'm sure you'll be fine without me..."

"That doesn't mean I want to be," Ruby replied without hesitation, grasping his hand in her warm palm, "Yang just… just needs to realize that I'm growing up. And I'm going to be who I am and be friends with who I want."

Mercury stared back at her, his fingers instinctively curling around her hand. He could feel Yang's eyes on him, watching him closely as he tried to think of what to say. He couldn't though, and Ruby turned rapidly to Yang.

"Yang, please… he's my friend."

Yang looked torn as she couldn't tear herself away from Ruby's gaze, and eventually she shut her eyes and sighed, "I…okay. You win Rubes. I don't… don't want to make you unhappy."

Mercury saw Ruby's lips form a soft smile, gratitude shown clearly on her face, but Mercury wasn't so sure that Yang would cave that easily. He could see the warning in her eyes still as she looked at him, but the traces of anger and indignation were either hidden very well or were gone altogether.

"Thanks sis...Uhm, I'll see you sometime tomorrow?" Ruby asked Mercury timidly, to which he couldn't help but smile at.

"Course you will."

Ruby grinned, blushing slightly as she hugged him quickly before trotting toward her sister, and he chuckled slightly at her retreating back. He met Yang's eyes again, and he arched a brow as the smile fell from his face. Yang sighed, shaking her head.

"You break her heart and I'll break your legs," Yang warned, a sudden glint forming in her eye as she grinned slightly, "You don't want to see me _yangry._ "

Mercury huffed a short laugh, "That was terrible."

"That's why I'm the Queen of Puns, Mercury," Yang threw back over her shoulder, following Ruby with a confident stride.

He heard Nyx's light footfalls behind him before she was standing beside him, and Mercury glanced at her to see her eyes were their trademark brown and pink. She had a small smirk on her face before she showed her scroll to him.

_{Hehe...legs}_

"Yeah," Mercury rolled his eyes, seeing her wink at him, "What do you think of Little Red and her friends?"

_{Well Blondie is pretty feisty...I like her. And Ruby is pretty cute}_

"Oh yeah? You interested, Neo?" Mercury questioned in amusement, cocking a brow at the small woman. She cocked out one hip and smirked slyly, typing out a response.

_{I should be asking you that question about 'gem'.}_

Mercury scowled, ignoring Nyx's knowing look as he began to walk towards the dorms, "Come on, Cinder's probably wondering where we are."

* * *

The Fire Queen scrolled lazily through the assorted lists while sitting with regal poise on the edge of her bed, amber eyes narrowed as she scanned every student with a cold calculation. Emerald was sitting on the floor a few feet away, examining her nails in boredom as they waited patiently for Mercury and Neo to return. Cinder frowned, her gaze focusing on the members of Team RWBY.

"Emerald… has Mercury sent you any more details concerning his small project?" Cinder addressed the mint haired woman.

"Not yet, ma'am. The last update I heard was from Neo. She said Mercury had to deal with Ruby's sister," Emerald replied dutifully, crimson orbs gazing up at Cinder in worship.

"Deal with?"

"Apparently the bimbo doesn't like that Mercury spends so much time with Ruby," Emerald shrugged, "But I'm sure Mercury can handle it."

"Hmm… well, since Mercury seems to be gaining the attention of so many because of this Ruby girl… we will have to be very careful when incorporating him into parts of the plan," Cinder mused to herself, looking through the statistics of all the students. She had already planned so many steps ahead, but Cinder found herself wondering if she might have to rework parts so suspicion wouldn't be cast on them…

For now however, the plan is unchanged. The dance was fast approaching, and it gave her ample time to plant the virus in the CCT while everyone is occupied.

Her scroll rang then. Right on time.

Cinder picked up the scroll and answered the call, placing the device on the nightstand beside her bed as she answered the man on the other side of the line.

"Roman. I suspect everything is moved to the set location I sent to your scroll?"

_"…And hello to you too, Cinder. Yes, all the dust is safe and sound and the charges are being smuggled out of the borders as we speak. But, I have a few problems that need to be addressed."_

Cinder glared at the scroll. That was not something she wanted to hear, "And you cannot solve this because…?"

_"Well, it comes in the form of a purple haired nuisance. And we both know he is not one to be ordered around unless money is involved."_

Cinder's eye twitched. If there was anyone that she would rather not deal with in this operation, it was Slate currently. However, he and his partner were a backup should anything go wrong in the plan, and she wasn't about to let them go that easily.

"What did he do?"

_"It's more of what he is not doing,"_ Roman sighed in aggravation, _"He was tasked with eliminating defectors of the White Fang since I am far too busy to be doing grunt work, but he seems to have taken up a job from Adam."_

"…I will deal with him," Cinder said coldly, amber eyes glowing in rage, "His partner would be more effective in that job anyway. Put Lynae on the case."

_"Already did. Now, if you don't mind me asking Cinder, but explain to me what exactly I'll be doing out at Mountain Glenn? I didn't exactly sign up for sightseeing."_

"Information will be sent to your scroll soon enough. Patience, Roman."

She heard him grumble on the other end as the door to the dorm finally opened and the two missing members of her close knit circle sauntered inside. Mercury nodded once at her before stretching and plopping down on his bed while Neo glanced at the scroll on the nightstand and grinned suddenly, bouncing on her toes as a hopeful expression plastered itself on her face.

Cinder sighed, "Go ahead."

Neo picked up the scroll as she pushed the door shut with her toe and quickly tapped the screen so she could see through Roman's camera, and waved animatedly once the request processed and Roman's face appeared on screen.

_"Oh, hey Neo. Did you get your ice cream today?"_

Neo nodded with a smile, her eyes changing to brown and pink as she practically skipped over to Mercury so he could voice the events, to which the silver haired teen rolled his eyes but did as she silently asked.

"We went out with Little Red. I think it's safe to say Neo had fun."

_"…You went out with Red."_

Neo pouted, letting Mercury hold the scroll (much to his mild annoyance) as she quickly signed back a response. Roman rolled his eyes.

_"She's not **cute**. Red is a pest, and that's that."_

Neo pouted at that, and Cinder cleared her throat to gather everyone's attention, "What held you two up in returning here?"

"Yang was playing overprotective sister so we were held up at the gates. Ruby helped calm her down though," Mercury shrugged, lounging on his bed, "I just have to tread lightly around her for a bit."

"Hm… Roman, go back to directing the White Fang. I will send you details pertaining to your next objective."

_"That's fancy talk for hang up now isn't it—"_

Mercury tossed the scroll back to Cinder carelessly after he hung up on the crime lord, and Emerald snickered a bit at the action. Cinder herself smirked amusedly, enjoying the mental image of Roman gaping at the scroll in disbelief as the dial tone reached his ears.

"Now that Roman is gone, we can speak freely," Cinder tapped her scroll for the screen to come to life yet again, and she gazed at her work she had been cycling through for a long moment, "As you all know, the dance is closing in rather fast. Now that it seems only one week remains before the event, we have to prepare. Now…" Cinder gazed at Emerald and Mercury, "Emerald, Mercury, you two are to attend the dance. Keep an eye on the guests and ensure that no one significant slips out. We can't risk me being detected during this mission."

"Yes ma'am," Emerald nodded quickly, "We'll do a headcount before giving you the all clear."

"We're gonna need some formal wear though," Mercury mentioned with a wave of his hand.

"That has already been accounted for thanks to Lynae, and she will drop off your formal wear the night before the dance."

"Won't she be at risk of being spotted?" Emerald asked in confusion.

"So far she has kept her hands clean in Vale, and all the runaway's are located outside of the local police jurisdiction, so she won't be at risk of being spotted and tagged for any crimes," Cinder explained, thoroughly pleased with her associates at the time being for being a minimal hassle, "And Neo," Cinder turned to the ice cream girl, "You may do as you wish. This operation really only requires three, but I am sure Mercury and Emerald would welcome your assistance should you offer it."

Neo pondered this for a moment before typing in her scroll, _{Well it certainly sounds like fun. I'll help}_

"Excellent. Be prepared when the time comes," Cinder said with finality, turning back to her scroll. Everything was falling into place.

* * *

Yang was uncharacteristically quiet as Ruby and her walked back to their own dorm, and despite having just resolved the argument moments before, Ruby felt slightly on edge. She kept glancing at her older sister from time to time, but she couldn't figure out what Yang was thinking, as she merely glanced around idly and smiled at Ruby when she caught her younger sister staring. It wasn't until they stopped in front of the door that lead to their dorm did Yang turn to Ruby and stop her from advancing into the room.

"Ruby...did I make you miserable because of all this with Mercury?" Yang asked hesitantly, a vulnerability on her face that Ruby had never seen before. It was unnerving.

"I wouldn't say I was miserable, per say," Ruby stated carefully, silver eyes trained on soft lilac, "I was more...shocked. I mean, we've never really fought like that before, and you've always were supportive over whatever I decided. So...it did hurt."

Yang cast her eyes to the ground, "I'm sorry I hurt you then. I guess I just...overreacted. I mean, I'm still unsure about Mercury, but know that I trust you to make the right decisions with him, y'know?"

"Alright _Dad_ ," Ruby rolled her eyes playfully before turning serious again, "But really, we aren't dating. He's just my friend."

"Uh, you sure about that sis? Some of the stuff he said made me think otherwise if I'm being honest," Yang placed her hands on her hips, "Not to mention you two were a little touchy feely right in front of me."

"T-T-That was just a hug! Friends hug!" Ruby stuttered, her cheeks turning a bright crimson as Yang's suggestion made her think back to Mercury kissing her cheek at the ice cream stand. She wasn't even sure of where Mercury stood with her now that she thought about it, "But uh...I don't know. I mean, Emerald could possibly be his girlfriend...?"

The blonde scoffed, "Rubes, if Mercury was Em's boyfriend, he would not be around you that's for sure. Em would make sure of that."

Ruby sighed, rubbing the side of her face, "Why do you have to tell me all this stuff and confuse me?!"

Yang raised a brow, a slanted smile on her face as she raised a brow, "You okay there Rubes?...What did you guys talk about at the stand anyway?"

"We uh, we compared Mercury's team to different flavors of ice cream," Ruby grinned a little, "And apparently I'm strawberry flavored."

"Makes sense. What else?"

"W-Well..." Ruby cast her eyes to the side, wondering whether or not she should tell Yang of the kiss despite just calming her about the subject. But she herself was confused about it, so maybe it wouldn't be so bad...

"Rubes?"

"Mercury...he um...he k-kissed..." Ruby tapped her cheek awkwardly as she swayed on her feet, "I don't know why he did..."

Yang was gazing at her calmly, but concern was easily seen, "Well, what happened after?"

"He went to make a call...and when I came back he looked kind of spacey. _Weendedupholdinghands,_ " Ruby gasped out, a verbal river of near gibberish that took Yang a minute to process.

Ruby felt Yang pat her head gently, a soft smile forming on her older sister's face, "That's so cute. And you think he doesn't like you..."

"Ugh, you're just as bad as Nyx!" Ruby whined, "I don't know what it means but-but I kind of liked it...?"

"Well, maybe you should think twice about the 'just friends' thing," Yang winked, letting her worries for Ruby ease away in favor of letting her little sister choose for herself, "And uh, just out of curiosity, what flavor ice cream is Mercury?"

Ruby blinked, "Well...we said he was a spoon..."

"So...you could say that, if you two become a thing and you're cuddling then Mercury would be..."

"Don't."

_"Spooning the Ice Cream?"_

_"YANG!"_


	9. The Shipping Train

"So, what's on the to do list today?"

Emerald rolled her neck as she closed the door to their dorm behind her, glancing at her scroll, "Well, for some ungodly reason Cinder is still keeping you on RWBY duty. As for me, I have to go find that famous second year team. CFVY if I remember right."

"You sound a little annoyed Em," Mercury commented with an arched brow, "I never would have thought this before, but I think you're starting to miss me."

She glared in response, replying flatly, "Oh no. You guessed it. What will I ever do with your unending comedy?"

Mercury snorted, "Whatever. You want me."

Emerald merely retorted by slapping his arm with a scowl while glancing at her scroll yet again, lowering her voice, "Neo's heading back to Torchwick's place for a small job, so no crazy ice cream lady to pester us today."

"Hm. Ruby might be disappointed," Mercury mused, seeing Emerald's incredulous look, "For a quirky little huntress and a deranged psychopath with a sweet side they get along rather well."

His mint haired partner rolled her eyes at that, scanning the students loitering around campus, "How do you even tolerate her for more than a couple minutes at a time?"

A small spark of annoyance rose up in his chest, but he brushed it away, shrugging, "She's a smart girl. Interesting to talk to."

"...Really."

He didn't need to look to see the astonished face she was making at the moment. He kept his grey eyes pinned to the environment in front of him, his boots clunking on the ground as he walked.

"So...how exactly did the talk with the bimbo go?" Emerald tried, waiting for some sort of response. He glanced at her flatly.

"Well I could tell she wanted to punch my face in but Ruby stemmed her anger...though I can tell Yang still doesn't trust me."

"And this is why I always do the talking," Emerald sighed, "Knowing you, you probably just cracked jokes and managed to piss off most of the girl's team."

"I'm doing well so far, aren't I?" Mercury shot back, "Found all their semblances as well as some of their friends, and they trusted me enough to go on that investigation about Torchwick."

"That doesn't mean anything," Emerald stated stubbornly, "Like Cinder said, we could have easily discovered their semblances when observing them in the combat arena."

Mercury was a little surprised at how aggressively Emerald was cutting down his exploits with Team RWBY, a quizzical expression on his face. Could it be possible…? _Ooh, he was so going to tease her on this._

"Is Emerald upset that Cinder isn't giving her more attention since she's too busy praising me?" Mercury mused to himself, tapping a finger to his chin in thought as Emerald growled, "You know Emmy, that really isn't healthy of you."

"Shut up," Emerald hissed, balling her hands into fists, "I just don't get why she didn't ask the more sociable of us to investigate them."

"Maybe because I was the one that actually helped Ruby when we first met while you were too busy examining your nails at the front door worrying that you'll miss Cinder's arrival."

"And what's with the first names?" Emerald ignored Mercury's accusation, crossing her arms, "I mean, you never adapted to names easily."

"What are you talking about?" Mercury scowled, "I can remember names just fine… and also, I kind of need to use their names when I'm talking to them."

"Obviously when undercover you do," Emerald rolled her eyes, "But even when you first met me, whenever it was just Cinder, you, and I around, you would refer to me as 'green haired chick'. And do I even have to mention you calling Ruby 'gem'?"

Mercury held back a grimace when Emerald mentioned that detail, but he merely tutted, "I see more jealousy bubbling up…"

Emerald narrowed her eyes as she grit her teeth, shoulders going rigid before she stomped off, "Get lost, Mercury."

"Aw, don't worry Em. No one can replace you! Though, Ruby fits better with the nickname gem, so…"

As Emerald threw an unkind gesture behind her toward him, Mercury chuckled before going the opposite direction, towards the building that Team RWBY's dorm was located. Before he and Emerald had left, Cinder had already assured him that she would talk personally with Slate once she was informed that not only he had been slacking on Torchwick's jobs for him, but was interfering with Mercury's. He didn't envy Slate, that's for sure, but a part of him just wanted Cinder to fry him and get rid of him for good.

But despite that headache removed, he felt a new one rising. Emerald was getting nosy when it came to Ruby and her friends, and he could sense her suspicion concerning the length of time that he would be absent with them. Normally he wouldn't care what she thought, but there was the very likely scenario that Emerald would tattle to Cinder about how he became so buddy-buddy with the enemy… well, became buddy-buddy with the enemy and was starting to actually enjoy their friendship. Especially since he carelessly threw out his little pet name for Ruby in front of his partner.

He would never admit it out loud however.

Forcing those troubling thoughts away, he turned the corner to be met with the leader of Team JNPR, Jaune Arc, leaving his dorm room and glancing at his scroll.

Mercury cocked his head at the oblivious boy and studied him closely, seeing that his getup consisted of hastily strapped on armor garments and blue jeans. He witnessed Jaune fight against Weiss in the combat arena before, and to say it was a slaughtering by the heiress would be an understatement. The way the princess moved made it seem as if she wasn't even trying whilst Jaune was putting all his effort forth in the battle. To put it bluntly, Jaune was written off as a non-threat to Cinder's plan right off the bat, and Mercury wondered how he even got into Beacon.

He considered just walking right past the boy and going on his merry way to find one of the members of Ruby's team, but Jaune spotted him sauntering slowly down the hall and gave a friendly smile.

"Oh hey, Mercury right?" Jaune asked before continuing on, "We met in the library. I'm Jaune."

"I remember," Mercury replied, taking his hand and shaking it firmly, "Nice to see you. Hey, have you seen Ruby?"

"Not too sure… though I overheard Ruby talking about going to the library with Weiss and Yang. Want to check there?"

"Lead the way."

Jaune began walking down the hallway and Mercury followed, his hands braced behind his head. The blonde glanced back at Mercury before slowing his pace and falling in step with him.

"So, seems like you spend a lot of time with Ruby and her team."

Mercury stared indifferently at him, "Seems so. What of it?"

"Uh, nothing really," Jaune squeaked, slightly intimidated by Mercury's blunt responses, "It's just— you know...I was just curious. And Ruby's a good friend of mine."

"I already have enough threats being pelted at me by Yang, if that's what you're planning on doing," Mercury stated, shoving his hands into his pockets and looking away.

"Ooh. Yeah, she's scary," Jaune nodded quickly, sympathizing with the silver haired teen, "I had her wrath directed on me during the first semester. Not fun."

"Really? Why's that?"

"Well, since Ruby and I are team leaders, we help each other out, y'know? Give each other advice," Jaune explained, "And we were spending a lot of time together...as you can imagine, Yang got the wrong impression."

"Hm. I see," Mercury hummed, nodding slowly. He was starting to see a pattern in Yang's protective tendencies, "Guess she thought the same of you as she does me."

"Heh. Probably," Jaune shrugged, "Ruby is the kid of the group, so a lot of people are protective of her. Just uh, be careful."

Mercury was definitely following that advice already, considering he believed he was rather close to the point that Yang would attempt to smash his face in with Ember Celica. Although he supposed Yang's suspicions were more accurate than she thought...after all, his purpose here is to make Beacon fall. How they will do that however, he is still in the dark.

Not surprising considering Cinder is the most secretive person he's ever known.

"Yeah. thanks."

They turned the corner to see Ruby, Weiss, and Yang standing beside one of the bookshelves. Ruby seemed to be peering over a few stacked books to see the other side while Weiss gazed at Yang with a stern expression.

"Yang Xiao Long I never thought the day would come where I would be forced to call you a coward but the day has come!" Weiss exclaimed in a hushed voice.

Mercury and Jaune exchanged glances as Yang huffed and crossed her arms, "I'm not a coward! I'm just using logic."

"Don't try to take my job, _I'm_ the logical one," Weiss retorted, jabbing a thumb towards herself, "And my logic is more sound than your own since you are merely nervous and doubtful."

"You know you could have easily just said she's scared of rejection," Ruby commented as she turned to face Weiss, smiling and waving when she spotted Jaune and Mercury.

"You understood either way," Weiss rolled her eyes before glancing over to where Jaune and Mercury were standing, "Are you two going to stand there or come talk to us?"

"We're more curious as to why you are all lurking behind a bookshelf," Mercury commented dryly as he and Jaune joined them.

"Oh, uh, we're just… looking for a book?" Ruby grinned innocently, and Mercury crossed his arms before staring her down. Ruby pouted, "Alright fine, we're not looking for a book."

Weiss smacked the heel of her palm to her forehead, "Ignore her. We are merely here to provide moral support for Yang," Weiss gestured to the blonde, "She has worries over asking out her prospective date to the dance."

"You make it sound so weird," Yang stated flatly.

"Oh shush, I'm trying to help!"

Jaune glanced between the three girls, confusion written clearly on his face, "Prospective date? Who is it?"

"It's the new guy, Neptune!" Ruby chirped, "Remember when you two met him in the library a couple days ago?"

"Hm," Mercury frowned a little at the golden haired beauty, "Gotta say Yang, I'm surprised."

Yang raised a brow, "And why is that so surprising?"

"Well, I'm not surprised you're aiming to ask someone," Mercury explained, a slight smirk on his face, "I just never expected you to be afraid of asking someone out."

"I'm not afraid!" Yang cried in indignation, "Shut up!"

"Amazing comeback," Mercury remarked dryly.

"But...I thought you liked him, Weiss?" Jaune cut in, looking expectantly at the white haired heiress.

"While I do admit Neptune impressed me when I first was introduced to him, I don't have time to maintain a relationship while completing my studies. Besides," Weiss turned her eyes to Yang, "I haven't had the opportunity to talk to him as Yang has, and would much rather assist a fellow teammate."

Ruby stared blankly at her, "Again, Weiss, you could have just said you weren't interested in Neptune in that way."

Mercury chuckled slightly as Weiss glared half-heartedly at her partner, and he glanced at Yang yet again, "So if you're going to ask him, why are you hiding behind this bookshelf?"

"She's trying to weasel out of it because she's chicken," Ruby stated frankly while rocking back and forth on her heels, making her look like a little kid that was showing her intellect. Mercury felt his mouth quirk up in a slight smile at the thought.

"I am not!" Yang objected, placing her hands on her hips, "It's just...I've talked to him maybe a couple times. I don't know if I have a good grasp of his personality yet."

"That's why you ask him out, Yang," Weiss groaned aggravatedly, "You go out together to learn more about each other. Oh, I have an idea," Weiss raised one finger as she talked, "How about we show you a scenario on how to ask someone out! We can practice right here."

"Well Snow Angel, maybe you should—"

"No, I am not demonstrating with you," Weiss stated frankly, cutting Jaune down ruthlessly as she turned her gaze to Mercury, "Now, Mercury, Ruby is going to demonstrate-—"

"Me?!" Ruby squeaked.

"—to Yang how to ask a…" She wrinkled her nose at Mercury, "Individual like yourself out to the dance."

Mercury scowled at the Ice Queen, crossing his arms, "What was the pause for?"

"Weiss, why do I have to?!" Ruby repeated as Weiss promptly ignored Mercury, causing a flare of annoyance to run through him.

"Well you talk with him the most, don't you? It is similar with Yang and Neptune… sort of. Now go on!" Weiss snapped, "Let's just say… you just walked up to Mercury in the hallway or something."

"U-Uh… okay…" Ruby stuttered, rubbing the back of her neck before peering up at Mercury as she cleared her throat, "H-Hey Mercury. How are you today?"

The silver haired teen resisted grinning at Ruby's immediate change in demeanor. He certainly was going to enjoy this… "Hey Ruby. I'm good, how about you?"

"Oh, uh, I'm great today! I actually wanted to ask you something…" Ruby scuffed her feet on the floor, clasping her hands together, "Uhm… so the dance is this weekend, and I was wondering if…"

Mercury raised a brow, "If…?"

"If you would like to go? W-With me?" Ruby stuttered, her face now a bright crimson. Mercury smirked.

"I'd love to."

Ruby looked up at him, finally making eye contact. Her face went slack for a moment before a small smile eased across her lips, and Mercury felt his own smirk sliding into a similar one that had too much sincerity in it for his liking. He wasn't quite sure what was going on as he continued staring, and he wasn't too sure he wanted to look into the why. He blinked, dazed as a pale hand waved in between them.

"…Aaand scene," Weiss ended with a slight cough, "That was a… mediocre demonstration."

Ruby huffed and looked off to the side, pouting. Mercury frowned before turning to the white haired girl.

"I think Ruby did pretty good."

Weiss stared at him for a moment before rolling her eyes, though he saw curiosity that was directed toward him no doubt. The Ice Queen turned to Yang, "Just… try to do something akin to that, but with less stuttering. And more eye contact!"

"But I don't know if—"

"Yang!" Weiss and Ruby chorused, taking either of Yang's arms in their grasp before walking her out into the open, and promptly shoving her out of view.

"There he is. Go talk to him!" Weiss snapped.

"Go get 'em sis!" Ruby cheered with a hushed voice.

Yang seemed to have muttered something to her teammates only for her to be ignored, since Mercury heard her footsteps fade a moment later. Weiss and Ruby turned back to him and Jaune, proud of what they accomplished. Jaune glanced at Weiss.

"Uh, so Weiss… since you don't have a date to the dance, would you like—"

"Jaune Arc," Weiss began icily, glaring at the blonde who flinched in cowardice, "Stop asking me, and for the love of all the celestial beings looking down at us, ask Pyrrha out."

"P-Pyrrha? But she doesn't—"

Ruby buried her head in her hands, her voice muffled slightly, "Please don't finish that sentence. Don't make me lose all hope in you."

Jaune blinked, "W-What? But she doesn't...doesn't like me like that...right?"

Mercury frowned a little at this. Jaune and the Invincible Girl? That's an...interesting pair. That might be a nice tidbit of information for Cinder, depending on why she's so interested in Pyrrha. Well, beyond Pyrrha just being a slight threat to her operations that is.

Ruby sighed, glancing at Weiss as she muttered, "Denser than an iceberg in the oceans by Atlas."

Weiss scoffed, "Look who's talking."

"What does that mean?!"

Mercury smirked at the clueless little red riding hood before ruffling her hair with his hand, "Don't worry about it, little gem."

"But Mercuryyyy!" Ruby whined, pouting whilst putting on her best puppy dog eyes. Mercury quickly looked away.

"I refuse to look at you while you do that."

"…you're mean."

" _I'm_ mean?" Mercury placed a hand on his chest as he looked back at her, a playful smile on his face, "I'm sorry, who manipulates people with her cuteness?"

Ruby pretended to think for a moment, a hand propped under her chin, "…Nyx."

"Huh. Well I have to give you that one."

"Ha!"

"That doesn't mean I'm telling you what Weiss means."

Ruby stomped her foot as Mercury grinned, and he noticed then that Jaune and Weiss were blatantly staring at them. Mercury cleared his throat, throwing a disinterested glance back at them as he rolled his shoulder, "What?"

Weiss scowled before shaking her head, "Nevermind, we were talking about Pyrrha," Weiss turned to glare at Jaune, "You have to be the densest man I have ever met if you cannot realize that Pyrrha is head over heels when it comes to you!"

"Oh, come on, that can't be true… I'm _me_ ," Jaune stressed, pointing to himself, "Just a scraggly blonde, remember?"

Ruby and Weiss both sighed in defeat, and shared a look before shaking their heads simultaneously. Mercury cocked his head at the pair, since their odd unison was bordering on downright creepy, but they were quickly jarred from the conversation yet again as Yang came back around the corner with a downcast look on her face.

"Well, how did it go?" Weiss asked expectantly, hands clasped behind her back.

"He turned me down," Yang shrugged, attempting a smile, though it turned out more as a grimace, "I guess I read into it wrong."

"He what?!" Weiss shrieked, "That's just preposterous! Why would he turn you down?"

"Well I can't exactly read minds, Weiss. That's not my semblance," Yang said bitterly as she cast her eyes to the side. She sighed a moment later, "Sorry, I know you're just trying to help."

"Don't worry about it," Weiss grabbed Yang's shoulder, "I understand."

"What did Neptune say?" Jaune cut in.

"He said the dance wasn't really his thing… though I think that was just an excuse…" Yang cast her eyes to the ground, shrugging, "I wish he was straight up with me, you know?"

Mercury frowned a little at Yang's uncharacteristically down mood. He never pegged Yang for one to be so unsure around boys, since her entire personality screamed confidence and bravado, but he supposed that just applied to her friends and not her crushes. Still, he was surprised Neptune turned her down, since when at dinner with all of RWBY as well as Sun and Neptune, Yang and Neptune seemed to enjoy each other's company immensely.

Then, he stopped himself. He wasn't feeling concern over this, was he? Why was he pondering over this? Mercury resisted growling in aggravation, wishing for Emerald to be here so he could distract himself from this line of thought. He supposed Ruby was the source of this investment in the lives of the students around him, but that justification just made it all the worse. He tried not to think any more and focused on the conversation around him.

"That makes no sense. That's it, I'm going to talk to him and straighten this out," Weiss stated with a precise nod, keeping her chin tilted high in the air.

"Weiss, you don't have to—"

"I want to help too," Jaune said hastily, "I mean, Neptune can't just flirt with you and then turn you down with an explanation like that."

"But—"

"Don't bother trying to convince me Yang, we are going to get this settled," Weiss said sternly, "Come on, Jaune. Let's find Neptune."

"Hey, remember we have to finish preparing for the dance later today!" Yang called desperately after the duo, only to huff in annoyance and cross her arms, "She sure can be pushy."

"It's kinda weird to have her obsessing over something besides training and tests though," Ruby mentioned, cocking her head as she watched Weiss and Jaune walk away, "At least she isn't channeling her anger towards us."

Mercury snickered at that, causing Ruby to smile timidly at him. He leant back on one foot as he stretched his arms out, sighing as he said, "Ice Queen can be persistent. But beside that, what is this about preparing the dance?"

"Oh, Weiss and I have been put in charge of the dance committee since Team CFVY's mission is taking longer than expected. We volunteered to help and they let us," Yang answered, and Mercury hid a grin. Seems like Emerald is out of a job today.

"Sounds interesting."

"Heh, yeah. Weiss and I have been really enjoying it and I think we've done well so far," Yang said proudly, "Oh, speaking of which, I should probably head over there now and get started lugging in the equipment. You two want to come with?"

Mercury glanced at Ruby with an arched brow, and she met his gaze with some surprise. In realizing he was letting her decide for the both of them, Ruby replied, "Uh… sure! Maybe we can help you set up."

"I dunno Ruby… you have some spaghetti arms," Yang grinned, grabbing one of Ruby's wrists and shaking around her arm for emphasis.

"Yaaaaang!" Ruby cried, pouting as she stole her arm back with a huff. Mercury chuckled, earning a glare from the small girl.

"I would have thought with you wielding such a large weapon as your scythe you would gain some muscle," He teased.

"Oh, shut up," Ruby huffed, turning away as they began to make their way to the building being used for the dance. Mercury sighed playfully before slinging his arm around her shoulders and pulling her close.

"Come on gem, chin up," He tapped her chin with his other hand, "You're scythe is pretty awesome."

Ruby tried to continue frowning as she glared halfheartedly up at him, but she eventually gave up and sent him a small smile, "Heh, yeah. You're still a meanie though."

"I figured that would be the case."

* * *

Ruby found it rather hard to keep up her elated mood as she watched the area slowly transform into a dance floor. Weiss had come in not long after them, looking rather pleased with herself, but wouldn't share anything with them. Yang and Weiss argued for a bit as Ruby and Mercury watched passively, but the argument was eventually dropped in favor of finishing the final arrangements for the dance tomorrow.

But the dance itself wasn't what kept Ruby's mood down. She worried over Blake and whether or not they would be able to convince her to go to the dance. If her entire team wasn't happy, then she wouldn't be happy, and that's that.

Currently, she was sitting at one of the few tables set up beside Mercury, who had his feet propped up on the table itself. That of course caused Weiss to send him dirty looks from time to time, but it seemed as if Mercury didn't care and was blatantly ignoring her. Ruby merely laid her arms on the table and placed her head on top of her arms, drawing a look of concern from Mercury.

"Gem? You feeling okay?"

"Hm?" Ruby tilted her head so she could see her silver haired friend, "Mm, I guess. I just wish we could find a way to get Blake to come to this dance."

"Why isn't Blake coming?" Mercury asked, only to receive an arched brow from Ruby. He blinked after a second, "She's still worried about Torchwick? There isn't much you all can do beyond what you're already doing."

"Yeah, I know, but when Blake sets her mind to something it is difficult to get her to stop and actually take care of herself," Ruby grumbled bitterly, pouting, "She isn't getting enough sleep, and she won't even eat unless one of us sets something in front of her. It's like she just...forgets everything else."

Ruby didn't have to look at Mercury to tell he was slightly uncomfortable. He didn't exactly seem like the guy that was good at reassuring people, and she wasn't asking for reassurance. She just needed to vent, she supposed. Despite this, the hand that rested itself on her back and the fingers that rubbed circles into the nape of her neck was surprising, and she felt herself blush a little as Mercury replied.

"I'm sure it'll work out, Ruby."

She turned to smile at him, "Yeah, you're probably right...thanks Merc."

He smiled back, but the clicking of Weiss' heels tore Ruby's attention away from him. Weiss pushed two squares of white tablecloth towards Ruby, smiling as she asked, "I need you to pick a tablecloth."

Ruby squinted at the two white squares of cloth, confusion settling in her features, "Aren't they both the same?"

Weiss frowned, making a noise of disappointment, "I don't even know why I asked!"

As her partner walked away, Ruby sighed before settling back on the table, feeling Mercury's fingers begin to move again. She hid her grin by burying her face into the fabric of her sleeves, silently glad that he was around. She heard Yang walk in, her stomping feet moving past her before a loud slam in the ground had her flying up in the air for a moment, jarring her from her thoughts. She blinked owlishly as Yang moved to stand in front of the table, hands on her hips as she eyed the hand on Ruby's upper back.

"So, have you picked out a dress yet?" Yang asked in an attempt to start a conversation, seeing Ruby's downtrodden mood. Ruby shook her head.

"Not just yet..."

"She's upset that Blake isn't coming to the dance," Mercury informed Yang, much to Ruby's chagrin. She shot him a look to which he merely smirked, drumming his fingers on her back.

"Oh, don't worry; she's going," Yang assured, a slanted smile on her face that was quickly wiped away as she looked off to the side, "Weiss, I thought we agreed: No doilies!"

Weiss stomped up to Yang, pointing at Yang with a stern look, "If I don't get doilies, you don't get fog machines!"

"Your dance is gonna have fog machines?"

Ruby turned to the speaker to see Sun and Neptune walking in, and her eyes immediately darted to Yang. The blonde's easygoing demeanor had diminished, leaving tense muscles and a frozen smile on her face as she realized who had just came in. Ruby reached out to Yang and grabbed her hand, "Yang?"

"I'm okay, Rubes," Yang addressed her younger sister quietly, though Ruby could tell that was a lie. It wasn't often that Yang showed an interest in a guy, but when she did, things either went very well or very poor. Judging by what happened prior, Ruby had to say currently things were going poorly.

"We we're thinking about it," Weiss shrugged, walking up to Neptune and sharing a meaningful look with him. Her eyes darted to Yang, and Neptune looked almost shy at that point. Ruby frowned at this, and she nudged Mercury to gain his attention.

"What's going on with him?" She whispered, glancing between the blue haired teen and her partner.

"That sounds cool..." Neptune trailed off, and after a moment, Weiss rolled her eyes before pulling him by the arm and practically shoving him towards Yang.

"Oh, Yang, Neptune said that he wanted to talk to you!" Weiss exclaimed far too cheerily for it to be natural, "Over there. Away from us."

"Uh...Weiss?" Yang raised a brow, lilac eyes darting to Neptune from time to time, "What are you-"

"She's not wrong," Neptune managed, "Can we talk?"

Yang blinked, looking up at Neptune before glancing at Ruby, who merely shrugged. She then looked at Weiss, who raised a brow and glared, as if trying to beam Yang the message to just go.

"I guess that's what was going on," Mercury said offhandedly as he and Ruby watched the duo walk a ways away to talk. Ruby smiled a bit.

"I wonder what Weiss and Jaune talked to him about."

"Jaune and I talked to him concerning why he declined Yang's request for him to accompany her to the dance," Weiss stated factually with her sophisticated vocabulary, "And then we continued to tell him that turning a girl down because he 'doesn't know how to dance' is not a good enough reason."

"...that was seriously his reason," Ruby gaped.

"Oh yeah, Nep can't dance to save his life," Sun chuckled, all too happy to spill the beans about his friend, "I guess he was too obsessed with his dumb cool guy persona. But, eh, at least Weiss and Jaune got it settled for the most part. Anyway, you ladies all excited for dress-up?"

"Pfft, yeah right!" Ruby shook her head and rolled her eyes.

"Oh, don't be like that Ruby, dress up isn't this horrendous thing you insist it is," Weiss sighed as she crossed her arms.

"Knowing you, you'll force me into heels!"

"What's wrong with heels?"

"They are the number one reason for death of the human foot!" Ruby exclaimed, flailing her arms as she did so.

"I think you'd look cute, gem," Mercury mentioned with a grin, poking at the side of her neck.

Ruby spluttered as she turned to Mercury, her face heating up exponentially, "I-I don't dress up! I don't get why it matters if I wear heels or boots!"

"Ugh, ignore her, she can't be saved," Weiss shook her head, turning to Sun and Mercury, "Well, what are you two wearing?"

"Uhh...this?" Sun gestured to his current apparel, that being his signature blue jeans and white collared shirt that was unbuttoned and showing his chest and abs. Mercury chuckled.

"I can respect that."

"See? Merc understands!" Sun grinned as he pointed to the silver haired teen.

"Ignore him for he knows not what he says," Neptune said quickly as he and Yang returned from their talk. Ruby was glad to see that Yang seemed a lot more relaxed than she was before when Neptune first arrived, and the glance Yang sent to Ruby told her all she needed to know.

"Hey, I may have moved to Mistral, but I grew up in Vacuo. It's not exactly a shirt-and-tie kind of place," Sun defended himself quickly.

Yang crossed her arms, raising a brow, "Yeah, we noticed."

Sun shot Yang a look before rubbing the back of his head, questioning, "Soooo... what does Blake think of all this? She still being all, y'know... Blake-y?"

"Obviously," Weiss turned and crossed her arms in clear disapproval.

Ruby lifted her head up from the table, adding with a frown, "I still can't think of a way to change her mind."

"Guys, trust me," Yang began, starting to walk to the exit, "Blake will be at the dance tomorrow."

At that, Yang walked out of the building, leaving the rest of the inhabitants to ponder over what she had planned for the cat faunus. Weiss was the first to recover, turning to Neptune quickly.

"I assume that you fixed things?"

Neptune sighed, his shoulders slumping, "Yes. Gosh, you sound like my mother."

"Well apparently I have to be, since you nearly ruined things with your idiotic reasoning! I mean really, out of all the reasons you could have had, the fact that you can't dance and didn't want to ruin your cool factor took priority?!"

Neptune tried to defend himself against Weiss' cutting assault as Sun laughed heartily at his friend's demise. Ruby leant back in her chair, turning to Mercury and seeing his raised brows.

"What is it?" Ruby asked.

"Just didn't think I'd ever see Ice Queen play matchmaker," Mercury chuckled quietly before meeting Ruby's gaze, "Gotta wonder who else she's going to match up."

Ruby blinked, seeing Mercury's mouth slowly twist into a grin. She bit her lip and quickly turned to look at the spectacle in front of her yet again, feeling her face heat up yet again.

At this rate, Ruby didn't need a matchmaker.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry for the wait. It's been hectic on the homefront :)


	10. Neo the Shipper

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Neo is the ultimate QuickSilver shipper. Just sayin'. It is totally canon.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry for being lazy! Here's a super early chapter to make it up to you guys :)

"Where is she?!"

Mercury clenched his jaw as Emerald's annoyed tone reached his ears, voicing the exact same line that she has been uttering for the past ten minutes. They were waiting nearby the air shuttles, and Mercury had his back pressed against a grey wall as he watched Emerald pace back and forth, heels clicking on the paved walkway.

"I don't know Em, maybe you scared her off with your constant _screaming._ "

Emerald scowled, glaring heatedly at Mercury before crossing her arms and glancing off down the sidewalk, frowning, "I'm just saying that Lynae and Neo were supposed to be here fifteen minutes ago, and so far we haven't even gotten a text from them."

"You and I both know how Lynae is. She'll show up when she's good and ready and that's that."

The mint haired woman didn't reply, merely huffing before turning on her heel to scan their surroundings. There wasn't much, merely a few stray air shuttles that were pulling out of port and the night landscape of Vale was presented to them, the setting sun peeking slightly over the horizon. It was a pretty sight, and the sun washed the land with a hazy orange.

The quiet atmosphere was broken quickly once Emerald caught sight of two approaching figures and called, "Took you long enough."

"I would have been punctual if it were not for the fact that Neo decided to attend the dance last minute," The dark haired woman said factually in her soft voice, "And before you question further, yes, she did force me to accompany her on a shopping trip to multiple boutiques to find the perfect one for her."

Neo merely smiled sweetly and typed something out on her scroll before showing it to the woman, and the woman rolled her eyes, "I would hardly describe the experience as entertaining."

Lynae Erin was a woman that Mercury personally thought lacked a joking bone in her body. She was rather monotonous on most occasions, though he had never fought beside her nor talked with her beyond small meetings with Cinder, so he couldn't really gauge her personality well. One thing he knew for sure though, she had unnerving electric blue eyes that looked too unnatural in color to be human, and black hair with the tips dipped in a dark blue held in a high ponytail.

An azure blue cloak that lacked a hood was tied with frail string at her collarbone and reached midway down her upper legs, and underneath it she wore a tight black tank top and black compression shorts. On the right hip of her shorts lay her emblem, the silhouette of a woman with golden wings fanning out from her body. She wore high heeled blue boots that reached her knee, and black and blue gloves on her hands. On her wrists were rounded strips of light blue tinted metal that held Megaera, and Mercury knew that her other weapon of choice, Tisiphone and Alecto, was resting on the small of her back, out of view to others. She gazed coolly at Emerald as the woman began to speak.

"Right. Well, I assume you have our evening wear?"

Lynae held up two hangers whose contents were obscured by flimsy black plastic. In her right hand, the hanger had a strip of tape with the name Mercury scrawled in black ink, while the other had the name Emerald written with the same handwriting.

"Neo is holding her own dress," Lynae mentioned as she handed off the hangers to Emerald, and Neo waved her own dress up happily. Mercury rolled his eyes with a slight smirk at the excited aura Neo held, but the smirk was wiped away quickly as Emerald shoved his tuxedo into his arms.

"Alright, good talk," Emerald sighed, throwing her dress over her shoulder like she was carrying a pack, "Cinder wants a report on the Candle's progress at Mountain Glenn soon. You know the format?"

"I've only been partnered with her for three years, Sustrai," Lynae commented blandly, bored blue eyes flitting to Mercury, "I do however have a message for you. If Neo and Emerald would excuse themselves…"

Emerald cast a curious look at Mercury, but he merely shrugged, unsure of what the message would be himself. Neo skipped over to him, still in her Nyx Peridot outfit, and showed her scroll to him.

_{It's about Adam and Tyrian. Good luck}_

That immediately soured Mercury's mood, and as Neo and Emerald headed off, he scowled towards the blue eyed woman, "What is it?"

Lynae sighed, clasping her hands in front of her and stating outright, "Tyrian has requested your assistance in his side job that Adam has given him."

"And I already told Slate that I'm not helping," Mercury snarled, "Adam isn't the one dishing out jobs in this operation, Cinder is. And I think we both know which one is the bigger threat to your health when angry."

"Cinder doesn't need to know of it."

"She already does through the Candle," Mercury countered, shaking his head as he pushed off the wall to stand straight, "And even if she didn't know of it, I wouldn't help Slate. I'm here to help Cinder and Cinder alone. He'll just have to deal with it."

"I don't know why you have such an opposition for my partner, but the job is rather easy," Lynae barreled on, unfazed, "All you need to do is obtain access to any notes or files that Miss Belladonna has concerning the White Fang, and to also keep him informed on any information you can obtain from your…friend Ruby. Cinder has been less than punctual in keeping Adam in the loop of her plans, and any intel can help his planning immensely. You will be paid handsomely."

"While the offer sounds just great, I'm not a money whore like your partner Slate is. I'm done here."

Mercury began walking away, making an annoyed noise in the back of his throat. He didn't want anything to do with Slate or Adam, and nothing could convince him otherwise, not to mention if Cinder didn't tell Adam something purposefully, it was for a good reason. He wasn't about to incite her wrath for a few extra lien. Lynae's voice carried over to him however and made him stop in his tracks.

"You have never seen the extent of what Tyrian and I can do," She commented with an almost lazy tone, "While you know of Tyrian's semblance, know his basic fighting style...you have not seen us together and what exactly we are capable of."

"...are you threatening me, Lyn?"

"Just remember this conversation later. You'll know when," Lynae began to turn, and Mercury was taken aback when the girl actually smiled. It wasn't a friendly one, it was one filled with promise and threat, a dangerous glint in her eye. He watched with narrowed eyes as she sauntered to the edge of the platform, feeling a response bubbling up from his throat.

"You know Cinder won't be pleased with this," Mercury raised a brow as Lynae stopped but didn't turn, "You know first hand what Cinder can do, what with that scar on your back."

Lynae stood still for a moment before chuckling, a bitter sound with no emotion behind it, "That was before I was in league with her. That's merely what she had to do to convince me. But we all share the same goal now, and Cinder knows what lengths we are willing to go to complete these phases of hers. The only difference between us lackey's is the method in which our goals are reached."

"And what does that mean?"

"You'll know when the time comes, Mercury," Lynae sighed before looking forward again. Another step and she was falling from sight, her cloak raising slightly, giving him a small glimpse of caramel colored feathers.

Mercury scowled yet again, turning violently before stomping off. He didn't care what sort of threats Lynae threw his way, he wasn't going to help Slate with anything. Especially since it probably involved stalking Blake, which Adam seemed keen on doing.

"Creep," He spat with a disgusted tone before beginning to jog to catch up with the two women.

Wait until Neo hears about this.

* * *

"Come on Ruby, come out! I want to see your dress!"

"No, I look ridiculous!" Ruby whined, rubbing her feet once she hopped up on the sink and kicked off her heels. She was already regretting asking her team for help in finding what to wear for the dance, and her feet were paying dearly for it as she had Weiss shoving all different types of heels on her feet. Not fun.

"Sis, the sooner you come out of hiding the sooner we can get to bed and forget this little clothing session ever happened," Yang tried to convince her.

Now that had Ruby's attention. Right now, she wanted nothing more than to change out of this silly dress and into her pajamas, and despite her uncomfortableness in the dress, Ruby supposed she would have to ride it out. Besides, it was only Weiss and Yang on the other side of the door.

Ruby slipped the pumps back on her feet before hopping off the sink, her knees wobbling as she tried to keep balance. She bit her lip in concentration as she stumbled to the bathroom door, turning the knob before regulating her breath. She inhaled deeply before straightening and letting the door ease open, eyes squeezed shut as she waited for Yang and Weiss to rain down their judgement.

"…Oh, you look _beautiful!_ " Yang cried, and Ruby peeked one eye open to see her sister clasping her hands together and bouncing on her toes.

"I have to agree," Weiss smiled, more reserved compared to Yang, "That's the one."

The dress was, of course, consisting of red and black material. The dress itself was sleeveless, with a thick black sash wrapped around her waist and black edging at the bottom. The dress splits down the middle vertically at the chest, each half covering her breasts, and a black mesh covers her upper chest and runs into the black collar of the dress. Along with the dress, she wore black pantyhose with the dreadful pumps that Weiss forced her into. She probably wouldn't mind the outfit all that much if it weren't for the pumps.

"Can we talk about how you _fight_ in these?!" Ruby gestured wildly to her heels before attempting to step forward, only to wobble and struggle in maintaining her balance, "O-Oh god! F-Falling!"

Yang giggled behind her hand as Weiss merely shook her head with a fond smile, crossing her arms as Ruby slowly made her way towards them. The white haired girl analyzed Ruby's appearance more before speaking, "Now all we have to decide for tomorrow is makeup, though I believe I can help with that."

"Ugh, do I have to wear makeup?" Ruby whined, pouting as she stabilized herself on the desk tucked to the wall, "Aren't the heels torture enough?"

"Ruby, trust me when I say I know how to dress for formal events," Weiss said smartly, though her mouth still curved up slightly in amusement, "My goal is to ensure that all of Team RWBY turn heads tomorrow, and that includes you."

Ruby frowned, stumbling into her sister, who wore a simple white dress with black heels. Yang laughed before setting Ruby upright on her feet, and she looked down at her own dress, "I feel like this is a little plain…"

"I was about to say that," Weiss nodded, tapping her finger to her chin, "I actually had a dress specially fitted that might meet your standards Yang...it has a similar look to that one but more colorful."

"Weiss, you didn't have to do that!" Yang exclaimed, touched by Weiss' actions, "This dress can work just fine."

"Oh, nonsense!" Weiss flicked her hand up as she turned to walk towards the closet, "I set you up with Neptune, so it's only fair that I assist you in getting all dolled up for him."

Yang rolled her eyes but followed Weiss to try on her dress, and Ruby plopped down on Weiss' bed, kicking off her heels yet again. She dreaded the moment Weiss decided to test out different types of eyeshadow and the like on her, and she folded her legs up underneath her body in wait. She blinked as she heard her scroll buzzing, and reached over to see the message sent to her.

_Unknown: {What are you wearing to the dance?}_

Ruby frowned. Who is that? She typed out a reply after a few moments of deliberation.

_Ruby: {Uh...who is this?}_

_Unknown: {It's Nyx silly! I didn't get to see you today :(}_

_Ruby: {How did you get my number?!}_

_Unknown: {I have my ways :P}_

Ruby giggled a little at that, quickly adding Nyx in as one of her contacts. She didn't even bother pressing further about the issue, since Nyx was able to swipe Mercury's wallet easily on their little ice cream outing.

_Nyx: {So what are you wearing?}_

_Ruby: {Eh, just a dress. And heels…}_

_Nyx: {...I want details}_

_Ruby: {Uh...I mean it's red…}_

_Nyx: {No no...I need to see this myself. One second!}_

Ruby furrowed her brows in confusion before she set her scroll back on the windowsill, and she sighed as she was about to flop completely onto the bed. That course of action quickly changed as suddenly, the door burst open and an overly excited Nyx Peridot bounced through the doorway.

"What the—!? Should I even ask how you got in?" Ruby arched a brow, and after Neo shook her head with a grin, Ruby rolled her eyes and smiled, "Well, at least you're honest."

Nyx winked before staring at her purposefully, and Ruby took that as her cue to stand up, fluffing out the ends of her dress as she did so. Nyx cocked her head and twirled her finger around, and Ruby sighed before turning slowly, careful not to fall in the death traps on her feet.

_{Gorgeous}_

"Thanks Nyx," Ruby smiled, wobbling on her feet, "I just wish I didn't have to wear such a high heel…"

_{Oh come on it's not that bad. Besides, Mercury's jaw is going to drop when he catches sight of you}_

Ruby felt her face immediately flush before she began stuttering out a reply, "W-Why do you say th-that? I-I mean Mercury's—"

_{Don't finish that sentence}_

"But I—"

_{Oh come on Ruby! You can't seriously still be unsure about the whole thing}_

"I don't know!" Ruby blurted, covering her face with her hands, "I-I'm not good with these sorts of things! I— hold on a minute, what am I saying?" Ruby mumbled to herself, blinking in confusion.

Nyx rolled her eyes, _{Ruby...you like him}_

"I…" Ruby felt her voice leave her as she cast her eyes to the ground. The confusion she felt before was less prominent whenever she thought of Mercury. When she thought of him, emotions such as happiness and excitement came to mind, and whenever he looked at her...she couldn't explain it, but the longer she spent with him the more she felt like she connected with him better. He was interesting, and despite her already learning some about him, she wanted to know more. Did that mean she liked him?

"I...I dunno. I think I do?" Ruby bit her lip, scratching her head as Nyx shook her head at her with a knowing grin. She typed out a quick message.

_{Ah, you poor confused red riding hood}_

"H-Hey!"

Nyx laughed silently at Ruby's protest, rolling her eyes playfully as she pranced over and placed a hand on her shoulder, showing her scroll to Ruby again.

_{It's okay Ruby. Emotions can be confusing}_

Ruby sent a soft glare towards the shorter girl before plopping back down on Weiss' bed, "Can we not talk about this? I really just want to get this silly dress up thing over with so I can sleep."

_{You do realize you're going to have to dress up like this again for the dance tomorrow right?}_

"Yeah, but I'm tired Nyx!" Ruby whined childishly, eyes drooping for emphasis, "Yang and Weiss are keeping me up late for this!"

"If it's any consolation Ruby, you can have all of Sunday to sleep in and be a couch potato."

"Well, yeah that does sound—" Ruby stopped, blinking before her eyes slowly turned to the doorway. She gaped for a second, processing the person at the door and what exactly they were wearing, before she squealed in excitement, "Ah does this mean you're going to the dance?!"

Blake smiled a bit and stepped inside the dorm room carefully, balancing with feline grace in her heels, "Yes… Yang made me realize some things that I didn't take into account before," Her smile faded a bit before she sighed, "And I wanted to apologize. I haven't been acting myself this past week, and I shouldn't have taken my stress out on you, Yang and Weiss."

"Aw, don't worry about it Blake," Ruby grinned, spreading out her arms, "We just wanted you to be happy. Now uh, can you come over here so I can hug you? I would walk over to you, but I'm afraid I might face plant on the floor…"

Nyx snickered as Blake rolled her eyes but obliged, striding over before hugging her team leader for a moment. Once they pulled apart, Blake asked, "So where are Yang and Weiss? And… why are you here, Nyx?"

"They're in the closet. Weiss is helping Yang with her dress," Ruby explained before narrowing her eyes at Nyx, "And Nyx decided to break into our dorm so she could see my dress."

_{Guilty as charged. Take me away Officer Rose}_

Ruby sighed, about to give up at this point, "If only Mercury were here to redirect your sass."

_{Oh, he would just add to it. And I would have brought him with me, but I wanted him to see you all dolled up the day of the dance, not before}_

"Of course," Ruby commented blandly, rubbing the back of her neck awkwardly. Turns out Nyx was trying to become a matchmaker for her and Mercury. Great.

"Am I missing something?" Blake asked with a raised brow, seeing Ruby's conflicted look, "Is something wrong?"

Nyx typed out a message before Ruby could answer, _{She's having a crisis concerning Mercury}_

Blake's eyebrows raised, "Really? I assume he has turned out to be a rather good friend then?"

Ruby's cheeks flushed a dark red at that, and she looked down at her feet in shyness. She heard Blake let out an amused huff before the cat faunus spoke again.

"Ruby, it's nothing to be ashamed of. It might be scary at first, but that's just a hurdle you have to jump over," Blake said with a smile, and Ruby glanced back up at her, "Sometimes you just have to follow your heart when it comes to these things."

The silver eyed huntress blinked, surprised at Blake's advice on the matter. Unconsciously, she had prepared herself for resistance on Blake's end over the idea of her possibly liking Mercury, much like how she knew Yang would feel uncomfortable about it, but she was pleasantly surprised. She didn't know why, but having Blake's support over this seemed to hold an odd weight that was similar yet different to Yang's unending pool of sisterly support.

She couldn't think of response in time as Weiss and Yang emerged, and Ruby gasped at the stunning dress Yang wore. Weiss was right in saying the style was similar, but instead of a plain white, the dress was a pale yellow. That wasn't it though, as there were sparkling purple flowers embroidered onto the dress that were scattered all over and gave the dress a shimmering effect. Her heels were a pale yellow as well with deep purple flowers on the toes, and earrings with deep purple jewels dangled from her ears. The last accessory consisted of a necklace similar to the one Yang wore during the little investigation mission they set up, only the chain was gold instead of silver.

In short, she looked beautiful.

"Blake?" Yang said in surprise, taking in the dress her partner wore and the new bow she sported, "Does this mean you're—"

"You owe me a dance tomorrow, Xiao Long," Blake interrupted with a small smile, "You look gorgeous."

"So do you!" Yang cheered as she rushed to engulf her partner in the signature Xiao Long bear hug, to which Blake tried to return as the life was squeezed out of her. A second later and Yang let go, turning to Nyx, "And when did you get here? Sneak in to see us all dolled up?"

Nyx smirked before typing a response and showing it to the blonde.

_{I wanted to see if Ruby's dress met my standards. It exceeds it… and so does yours actually}_

"Aw, that's sweet," Yang grinned, "But what about your dress?"

Nyx tapped a finger to her lips, typing out another reply.

_{You'll see it tomorrow}_

"Well, I'm looking forward to it!"

Ruby watched her team with a fond smile as they began talking amongst themselves animatedly, complimenting their dresses and exciting themselves for the dance tomorrow. Nyx plopped on Weiss' bed beside her, a half-smile on her face as she lazily rolled her eyes toward Ruby. The silver eyed girl giggled at Nyx's comical movements, swaying a bit as Nyx plopped her head on Ruby's shoulder. After Ruby stabilized herself, she grinned before patting Nyx's head.

"Are the rest of your team going to the dance?"

_{Yeah, but Cinder might be a little late. Her dress is taking longer to fit than the guy first estimated}_

"Aw, well I hope she makes it," Ruby frowned a little, "What's taking so long for the tailor to fit the dress?"

_{Dunno. Cinder won't tell me what the dress looks like so I can't speculate}_ Nyx shrugged, jostling Ruby a bit, _{But don't worry, I'll make sure Mercury gets there on time}_

Ruby growled lowly in her throat, "You are never going to let go of this are you?"

_{I still have the photo saved in my gallery 'gem'~}_

Nyx felt her smirk widen as Ruby groaned, and Ruby couldn't help but wonder what devious thoughts were bouncing in her mind. Who would have thought that she would become such good friends with a few transfer students?

_{Don't worry Ruby, I'll help you with these illusive emotions you can't seem to pinpoint}_

"You know you're pretty nosy...and shippy. Is that even a word?"

_{Eh, what else do I have to do around here? And yes, it is totally a word}_

* * *

Mercury adjusted his tie for the fifth time as he walked along Beacon's walkways with Emerald and Neo close behind. He was slightly suspicious of Neo's overzealous mood, since he's had to suffer through her critical scrutinizing of his tuxedo despite not even being the one to pick it out. He swears that he had to bat her hands away from fixing his collar twenty times already.

Now, a large grin was plastered on the girl's face as she skipped along, her black hair out of their pigtails and freshly curled for the occasion. She kept sneaking glances at Mercury before silently snickering, her shoulders heaving at the motion. Mercury scowled, and once they got to the stairway leading up to the building, he caved and rounded on the girl, "Alright, what are you laughing at?"

Neo merely shrugged, a sickly sweet smile on her face as she typed out a response, _{Oh nothing important. So do you know who's going?}_

Mercury narrowed his eyes at the girl while Emerald responded for him, "As far as we know, all of teams JNPR, CRDL, and SSSN, as well as three out of four members of Team RWBY. Penny should also be present."

_{Blake is going}_

"Huh?" Mercury and Emerald said in an odd unison, causing the latter to scowl at the former while the former smirked.

_{Blake is going to the dance. All of Team RWBY should be there}_ Neo clarified.

Emerald frowned, "How did you—"

"That's where you went yesterday," Mercury stated as he made the realization, "You went to Team RWBY's dorm."

Neo merely winked in confirmation, grinning slyly at the silver haired teen. Mercury did not like the expression one bit. It was the exact grin that she gained whenever she was planning something.

"Nyx…" Mercury narrowed his eyes, crossing his arms as he stopped and turned to her, "What did you do?"

_{I didn't do anything}_

"What are you planning then?" He countered, seeing her merely shrug and clasp her hands behind her back, acting as if she was the manifestation of innocence. Emerald looked between the two in confusion.

"Is there something I should know here?"

"I'm trying to figure that out myself, Em," Mercury arched a brow at the disguised ice cream girl, "So what is it?"

Neo waited a second, peering around Mercury's form before grinning madly. She typed out a message and waved it in Mercury's face.

_{Okay! Turn around~}_

Mercury gave her an incredulous look, seeing her giddy demeanor quickly turn to extreme annoyance. She rolled her eyes and stomped her heeled foot before grabbing his wrist tightly — the sudden action caused him to tense — and used her own body weight to swing him around, accidentally running into Emerald in the process. The mint haired woman protested, but Neo merely grinned as she caught Mercury's expression. Step one complete.

"Uh… Nyx?" Emerald muttered to the shorter girl, having taken notice of Mercury's sudden change in mood, "What the hell is going on?"

Neo merely tapped a finger to her lips.

What Mercury was staring at was a familiar silver eyed huntress that was balancing precariously on high heels. She had a death grip on the arm of Pyrrha Nikos, who herself sported a long red evening dress and was smiling fondly at her friend's concentration. Mercury's eyes roamed up and down Ruby's form, and Neo could have sworn she saw his eyes darken a tad more than they already were. She smirked, pushing away from Emerald and moving to elbow Mercury. Her smirk widened when Mercury seemed jolted back to reality at the context, and he sent a murderous glare toward her. She winked in return.

Shaking his head, Mercury returned his gaze to the young gem approaching him unknowingly, feeling excitement brew in his chest. Momentarily, he forgot completely about his accomplices standing beside him, and he felt himself smile fondly at the girl before calling out, "I told you you'd look cute, gem."

Ruby startled, letting go of Pyrrha's arm as she squeaked and jumped slightly. He chuckled lowly as she realized it was him and smiled despite the embarrassed flush that went across her cheeks, and she tried to regain her composure by stepping forward and greeting him, "Ahh, h-hi Mercury. I— _oh gosh no!"_

Her heel caught and she was sent off balance, careening forward unsteadily as her arms flung out to try and stabilize herself. Mercury raised a brow as she barreled straight into him, her hands reflexively clutching at the jacket of his tux as his own hands flew to her waist. He quickly lifted her up, righting her orientation before setting her back down gently, laughing the entire time while Ruby spluttered in annoyance.

"I-It's not funny!" Ruby pouted, crossing her arms and huffing childishly. Mercury grinned.

"Hey, you're the one that decided to fall into me."

"I didn't decide to do that my heels did!" Ruby quickly retorted with a flushed face.

"Well, I'm glad your heels are thinking of me at least," Mercury teased, ruffling Ruby's hair as she rolled her eyes with a small smile.

"I do think of you!— Er, I mean I-I think you're uh–…y-you look nice tonight!" Ruby stammered. Behind him, Neo hit her forehead with her palm.

Mercury raised his brows at her before his smile became a touch more sincere, and he held out his arm to her, "Need some help up these stairs, gem?"

"Uh… probably," Ruby admitted sheepishly, tentatively taking his arm. The first step in and she was already wobbling, and she asked quickly, "You'll catch me if I fall right?"

Mercury blinked in surprise before smirking down at her, and he placed his hand on top of her own, his thumb brushing across her knuckles in an attempt to relax her grip, "Of course."

* * *

Neo watched with a devious look as Mercury helped Little Red up the stairs. She knew for a fact that she liked the girl, and she also knew for a fact that Little Red liked Mercury, and the possibility that he may have a soft spot for Little Red was pretty high in her eyes. Having nothing else better to do, Neo gave herself a little job. Evidently, she was working hard at it.

"Well, it seems like Ruby has herself occupied for the time being," Pyrrha stated with an almost motherly looking smile, turning to Emerald and Neo, "And I must say, you both look stunning!"

"Thanks Pyrrha," Emerald smiled back brightly, "You look great as well!"

Neo grinned at the tall redhead before taking the ends of her dress between her fingertips and curtsying with her usual adorable charm. She typed into her scroll quickly, showing it to the redhead a moment later.

_{Got a date, hot stuff?}_

Pyrrha's smile became plastic as she replied, "No, I'm flying solo today. It should be fun however. I know Yang and Weiss worked very hard to make this dance legendary."

That elicited a nod and a wink from Neo, and she began to hurry up the stairs after Ruby and Mercury. They had just made it to the doors, and were stepping through just as Neo caught up to them, falling in step beside Ruby.

"Oh, hey Nyx! You're dress is really cute," Ruby greeted, though she still had a death grip on Mercury's arm in fear of toppling over. Mercury didn't seem to mind, "It really suits you!"

Neo grinned a little as she glanced down at her dress. It was strapless and reached her knees, and the body was primarily black. Around her waist was a thick white sash similar to the black one around Ruby's waist, only Neo's also had a large white bow resting on her right hip. Along with the simple dress she wore black gloves with white bows on the back of her hands, black ankle wedges with a few straps looping around the back of her feet, and a green jeweled necklace with green stud earrings.

_{Thanks Ruby. And also, I told you}_

Ruby flushed a deep crimson at that while Mercury arched a brow at the silver eyed girl, "What did she tell you?"

"N-Nothing!"

Neo grinned maliciously and winked at Mercury once he glanced at her, her eye turning brown for a second before she winked again and it quickly turned back to green. He rolled his eyes.

"Aww, you look great Nyx!"

She blinked before her eyes moved to Yang, who was smiling madly at the podium set up in front of the door. Her dress glittered underneath the light, and Nyx sauntered forward with her regular confidence and showed Yang her scroll.

_{Well you look like the Belle of the ball my dear. Neptune is a lucky man}_

A light pink dusted Yang's face and she laughed, "And he better know it!"

Acting like the good guy in the den of her enemies was exciting. Adrenaline pumped in her veins as she made nice and crafted lies, and the feeling was exhilarating. Although, Neo had to admit, she had begun to actually enjoy talking with some of them, Ruby especially. Maybe in time, should Ruby eventually act on her little crush on her silver haired friend, she would join them. It was unlikely, but Neo figured there was no harm in some conversion attempts. She would rather not see the little rose dead after all, despite never shying away from death herself.

The dance may be the perfect time to give Ruby a nudge in the right direction… or a shove. Neo wasn't too picky when it came to these things.

Then, behind her she heard Weiss pull Ruby away from her and Mercury. Something about showing her something, though she didn't really listen to what the Ice Queen was prattling about and Neo felt her eye twitch in slight annoyance. Oh yeah, she's totally getting involved in some teen romance tonight.

She turned to see Emerald and Mercury walking one way while Weiss pointed out something to Ruby the other way, and Pyrrha merely walked past Neo to speak with Nora and Ren, who were by the stairwell. Neo narrowed her eyes, scanning for any possible helpers in her plan… hmm…

That'll work.

Neo hurried over to the couple dancing together, and she held out her scroll to them. As they read the contents, their eyes widened.

"You need help with a plan? What is it?" Blake asked, pulling away slightly from Sun. That won another note from Neo, "Ruby and… Mercury? Hm, so you see it too."

Neo nodded. Sun chuckled, "So, you need help setting up Red Riding Hood and Merc? I'm game if Blake is. What do you need us to do?"

_{You know, I knew there was a reason I liked you two}_

"Well, thank you," Blake said in amusement. She shared a look with Sun before she gestured to Neo to follow her, and they walked off of the dance floor and to the side, "So what is your plan?"

_{Well...that depends on Sun. You got any friends around that can talk up Ruby?}_

"Uh...yeah, actually. Why are you...Ooooh," Sun made a realization, "You know, you're pretty evil. A good kind of evil though."

Neo curtsied yet again as Blake let out a soft laugh, and Sun looked around for a second before finding the person he was looking for, "Alright...Scarlet won't mind helping. When is this plan going into action?"

_{Oh, don't you worry. I have it all figured out. Here's the plan...}_

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Lynae is Scandinavian for small blue flower while Erin is a bright shade of green.


	11. How Diabolically Sweet

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The dance chapter has finally arrived!

Neo grinned as she overlooked the dance floor. She saw everything clearly, and her temporary associates were in position and ready. As soon as she gave the signal, her diabolical plan would be in effect, fittingly named the DJS. And what did that stand for?

The Double Jealousy Scheme. Oh yeah, Mercury and Ruby will unwittingly fall right for Neo's trickery, and her plan will be perfect. Neo sighed, smiling. Roman would be so proud. Well, if her plan didn't involve Ruby, and if it had more to do with actually scheming and something crime related. Also, the name would probably throw him off… now that she thought about it, maybe he would just be indifferent.

But no matter, Neo had it all figured out. Jealousy is the best medicine after all. Neo's pretty sure that someone said that at some point in time, so it's gotta be legit right?

It would seem that more than just Sun and Blake were now involved in her little plan. Now that redhead Scarlet, and even that blonde boy Jaune, who apparently was the leader of Team JNPR, are eager to help. She just loved it when a plan brought people together.

She saw Sun and Blake glance at her from the dance floor, and she nodded once, ready to begin. She made a simple thumbs up, translating to 'I'm beginning phase one, be ready', and made a beeline for Mercury, who was up on the balcony with Emerald, looking over at the students. Her maniacal grin turned into a secretive, close-lipped smile, and she reached for Mercury's wrist.

_These little oblivious love birds won't know what hit them._

* * *

Ruby wasn't the best person at handling social situations, and it was showing right now. She watched from the sidelines as her teammates danced happily among the crowd, and she sipped from her glass of punch from time to time. Yang and Weiss did do a good job on the decor, but Ruby was bored out of her mind because people. She was getting better at it apparently, since Weiss did admit that Ruby was suddenly getting out more (because of Mercury and Nyx no doubt) but she was still not a very chatty person with people outside her circle of friends.

"What are you doing moping here, Ruby?" Blake suddenly appeared out of nowhere, startling the young girl.

"AH! Blake, you scared me!" Ruby pouted, barely managing to save her glass of punch from hitting the floor, "Phew. Uh, I'm just standing here. It's real fun. Ehehe…"

Blake rolled her eyes before smiling slightly, "Oh come on Ruby. You're missing out not being on the dance floor with us."

"Well, I might try it if I didn't have on these death traps," Ruby mumbled as she glanced down at her feet, frowning slightly. She pushed her bangs out of her face before taking another gulp of her punch, "Besides, you know I'm not a very dancey kind of girl."

"Don't knock until you try it," Blake advised dryly.

"Yeah, yeah, I've heard that spiel from Yang before. Where's Sun, Blake?"

"Oh, he's just talking with one of his teammates currently," Blake stated, a slight smile on her face, "They are actually rather nice. I think you'd like them."

"Maybe…" Ruby shrugged, taking a sip of her punch as her eyes roamed across the dance floor, "Hey, have you seen Yang? I saw her at the front before Weiss pulled me away for something."

"Oh, don't worry about Yang, she's with Neptune right now trying to avoid having her toes stepped on," Blake smiled in amusement. Her smile grew a hint wider as she saw Ruby abruptly lock onto a particular couple in the crowd.

"Is that...Nyx and Mercury?"

Blake pretended to look for the pair before nodding, "It seems so...you okay Ruby?"

"Uh...yeah. Why wouldn't I be?" Ruby smiled weakly, though inwardly she felt a little hurt. She was surprised Nyx decided to dance with Mercury...or maybe it was the other way around. The silver eyed girl forced herself to brighten her smile, "They seem to be enjoying themselves."

The cat faunus wasn't convinced by her lie, and she placed a delicate hand on Ruby's shoulder while locking eyes with Nyx for a split second, something that Ruby didn't notice, "You know...you don't have to just stand here. You can go and ask him to dance with you."

"Wh-What?!" Ruby stuttered, eyes wide as she fumbled her glass, "A-Are you trying to say that I'm...that I'm _jealous_? O-Of course I'm not jealous! Nyx and Mercury are my friends!"

"Whatever you say," Blake shrugged, moving to walk away, "Just talk to him if you can. Trust me."

Blake knew Ruby wouldn't be brave enough to do such a thing with what she has seen, and Blake looked purposefully at Jaune, who was standing off to the side. While Ruby was oblivious of this, Blake nodded once before flicking her eyes over to Ruby. Once Jaune began walking towards the redhead, Blake quickly walked off.

"So, you're standing by the punch bowl too?" Jaune slid up to stand beside Ruby, a glass of punch in his hand.

"Yup," Ruby popped the 'p' as she nodded her head once, silver eyes flickering over to Mercury, who was still dancing with Nyx. She totally wasn't jealous. Blake was so wrong, surely.

"...Here's to the socially awkward," Jaune proposed a toast, and Ruby giggled before clinking her glass with his. The slight distraction Jaune provided however was quickly wiped away as he spotted the source of her small pout, "I'm surprised you aren't talking with Mercury. You two seemed to have become rather close."

Ruby bit her lip and rubbed the back of her neck as she responded, "Well, I don't want to interfere with his teammate. They seem to be...enjoying themselves."

Jaune looked at her in disbelief.

"What?" Ruby yipped, defensive suddenly, "I'm not jealous or anything like that! He just looks like he's enjoying himself!"

The blonde shook his head, grinning a little, "The little Rubaby is jealous…"

"Ugh, Yang has you saying that too?!" Ruby nearly shrieked, tightening her hold on her glass, "Really Jaune, I'm fine."

"Sup losers?" Sun appeared beside Ruby, adjusting his tie uncomfortably. A quick glance at the dance floor and Ruby saw Yang and Blake dancing together, so she supposed Yang was cashing in her demand for a dance with her partner, "What's going on?"

"Ruby's jealous that Mercury is dancing with someone that's not her," Jaune smirked.

"Oh, shut it Vomit Boy!"

"Make me, Crater Face!"

"I think I can help with this," Sun pat the top of Ruby's head and effectively broke up the stare down that was no doubt about to commence between Jaune and Ruby, "Listen Ruby, I got a pretty strong feeling Mercury's got a thing for you as well. And if I guessed this right...he looks a little like the jealous type too. One sec!"

"S-Sun, wait!" Ruby tried to stop him by grabbing onto the tail end of his shirt, but he weaved his way into the crowd before she could even lift her hand. She growled and turned to Jaune, "I hate both of you."

"Love you too, Crater Face," Jaune chuckled before slinging an arm around her shoulder and hugging her to his side briefly. Something caught his attention however, and he asked suddenly, "Why's Pyrrha not on the dance floor with her date?"

"...Pyrrha came alone," Ruby answered slowly, blinking up at the blonde boy, "No one asked her… and the one person she wanted to ask didn't."

"Well…why didn't she ask him?" Jaune frowned, "I mean, I'm pretty sure anyone would have wanted to go to the dance with her."

"Maybe she didn't ask him because he was showing interest in someone else… on another team… whose dorm is across the hall…" Ruby kept dropping hints as Jaune stayed in that perplexed state, and she groaned, "Oh for the love of— she wanted to come to the dance with _you_ , Jaune!"

"What? I already told you, that's crazy!" Jaune exclaimed, staring at his punch, "She wouldn't go for a scraggly guy like me."

"Well that's her type, and she's looking at you Jaune, and so help me if you don't do something to bring her out of the mopey mood she's in I will take Crescent Rose—"

"And you've convinced me," Jaune yipped in slight fear as Ruby glared, "Hold my punch."

Ruby sighed and took his glass before watching him disappear into the crowd. She took a sip from his glass, not particularly caring that he had already drank from it, and her eyes fell to the back of Mercury's head yet again. She berated herself in her mind. What in the world is wrong with her? It wasn't like she was dating him! So what he's dancing with his teammate? He was obligated to dance with a teammate. It's not like she wanted to dance with him either, no, not at all…

"Hey Ruby!" Sun returned with a boy with green eyes and red hair falling in front of his right eye. There were tattoo's around his left eye, and he wore a black tuxedo with a red tie, "This is one of my teammates, Scarlet. Scarlet, this is Ruby Rose, leader of Team RWBY...it's a little confusing but you'll get it."

"Uh, right. Well, hello Ruby," Scarlet extended a hand which Ruby took, and he said in a lower voice, "I understand you are aiming to catch someone's attention."

"Okay, look, I really appreciate that your team leader wants to help me, but I'm fine, really!" Ruby forced a smile, looking over at Sun, "Seriously, you don't need to—"

"Well I'll leave you two alone!" Sun exclaimed loudly, ignoring her gaping look as he winked a grey eye at her and disappeared once more. She grit her teeth.

"Oh, seriously?!"

"Sun can be rather pushy when it comes to helping friends," Scarlet interjected, looking a little nervous as Ruby turned her angered look towards him, "He doesn't mean any real harm."

"I know, and it's sweet that Sun cares...but I don't even know if he...It...it's confusing, I'm sorry—"

"No, tell me about it. Why are you confused?" Scarlet questioned, concern overtaking his features. She shifted on her feet and rubbed her left arm with her right hand.

"Well...he's rather nice, and I enjoy being around him, but...he seems to only flirt and tease. I don't know, I guess I'm not seeing what other people are seeing when I'm with him. It's weird to think that someone likes me..."

"Think of it this way then," Scarlet proposed, "If you enjoy talking with him and spending time with him, at the very least it's worth a shot, right? I mean, if you just never said anything the entire time he's here, you'll always wonder about the 'what if'. He's an exchange student, right?"

Ruby nodded, "Yeah, his team came for the Vytal Festival."

"Then go for it. He won't be staying forever, after all," Scarlet suggested.

"I...okay. Thanks Scarlet," Ruby smiled up at him, silver eyes twinkling, "I appreciate it."

"Ey, anything for a friend," Scarlet replied with a slight smile as he pat her shoulder.

Ruby tucked some strands of hair behind her ear before turning away from Scarlet, looking out onto the dance floor. He breath caught in her throat at what she saw.

Mercury was staring right at her.

* * *

Mercury was beyond confused.

While he knew eventually he would have to go out on the dance floor and mingle, he and Emerald had planned to scope out everyone to see who had a partner and who didn't, and to make sure there were no strays that could possibly spot Cinder when she made her move toward the CCT. That plan was quickly sliced, diced, and thrown down the garbage chute once their giddy yet psychopathic partner forcefully grabbed Mercury by the wrist and pulled him out onto the dance floor, typing a note simultaneously.

_{We are dancing right now and that's final don't try and fight back}_

"The hell are you doing, Nyx?" Mercury hissed as he was forced into taking Neo's hand in his own and beginning to dance with her as to avoid causing a scene, "We have a job to do."

Neo used her free hand to type out a response, _{Yeah, but I have a job too. You can do yours while I do mine}_

"…and what's your job?"

_{Oh, you'll be informed after the fact}_

There are very few people in the world that can cause Mercury to lose his cocky demeanor. Neo happened to be one of them, sadly. He remarked dryly, "That sure does fill me with confidence."

_{Don't be rude}_ Neo frowned, emerald eyes glaring at him, _{Just do your little survey later. Emerald is a big girl, I'm sure she can handle it}_

Mercury glanced around quickly before responding lowly, "If Cinder catches wind of you jeopardizing the plan you're cooked. Watch yourself Nyx."

_{One, that pun was absolutely terrible, and two, I didn't know you worried so much about me, Mercury. Are you actually starting to tolerate me?}_

Neo's mocking expression sent his annoyance straight to his head and he spit out impulsively, "No, I don't worry about you, I worry about how Ruby would respond to your untimely demise."

Neo's gaping mouth had him backtracking. _Wait… what did I just say?_

_{Awwww~}_

Mercury glared at Neo, his thoughts circling like a tornado. Where on Remnant did that come from? He knew that he thought of Ruby in a… in an admittedly higher regard than he probably should, considering he will eventually have to betray her, but he never thought that his friendship with her ran that deep. As he was caught up in his thoughts, he didn't notice Neo make a motion with her hand towards a certain pair of faunus', and merely shook his head.

He shouldn't be thinking this way. He is an assassin. He is a killer. That's all he will ever be, a tool to advance another's goal. That's what he is to Cinder, and he knows it. It was...odd, that Ruby thought of him differently.

He glanced down at Neo to see her smirking up at him with a glint in her eye, and he scowled, "Shut it Nyx."

_{I didn't say anything, Mercury. I **never** say anything}_

"You know what I meant."

_{Mhm. Oh, and by the way… I think Ruby finally found herself a date. Good for her}_

Mercury blinked slowly, cocking his head slightly at the ice cream girl. She must have seen something in his expression since she rolled her eyes and nodded her head to the space behind him. The annoyance was slowly turning into anger toward Neo, and he was prepared to just walk away from this entire situation and resume annoying Emerald to clear his head. He turned to see what Neo was nodding toward anyway though, and that anger was quickly thrown to the side at the sight.

There was Ruby, in her cute little dress and sipping on a glass of punch, and some guy with red hair covering one of his eyes with his hand on Ruby's shoulder. He said something to her, and she smiled as she replied. An odd feeling curdled in Mercury's gut at the sight, and a thought immediately bubbled up in his mind. What was that man doing with _his_ gem?

"Who is that guy?" Mercury spat with an overwhelming amount of venom, throwing himself off with the tone as well as Neo. He didn't notice Neo blink in shock before smiling wide.

A scroll was waved in her face, {If you're going to be like that go get your little gem. Quick, before he gets her out on the dance floor}

Neo winked at him quickly before zooming off, and he didn't have enough time to even process a response. His eyes darted back to Ruby, and a second later she glanced over at him, and their eyes locked onto each other's. The jealousy he felt towards the redhead consuming Ruby's attention slowly melted away as Ruby's cheeks began to fill with that familiar rosy red color, and he found himself beginning to step toward her without even fully thinking it out. _Well I can't just pretend I didn't see her, now can I?_

"...Hey," Ruby squeaked shyly as he stopped in front of her, and he glared coldly at the hand still on her shoulder. Mercury's eyes flicked up to the owner of said hand, and Scarlet arched a brow at him before taking his hand away and backing away with a slight smile.

Mercury glanced back at Ruby once Scarlet backed away, and his gaze softened toward her. He held out his hand, "Alright gem, no more standing by the punch bowl. We're dancing."

"W-We are?" Ruby blinked, staring at his hand for a moment before biting her lip. She peered up at him timidly as she placed her hand in his own, "I-I'm not a great dancer. Especially in these stupid lady stilts…"

Mercury laughed at that, pulling her along to the dance floor, "Lady stilts, huh?"

"Sh-Shut up!"

He smirked before turning to her, pulling her close and setting his hand on the small of her back. She stumbled a little on her feet, blushing madly the entire time, and Mercury was having a hard time keeping in his laughter at Ruby's determined face as she concentrated on keeping herself upright.

"Alright gem, let's just do this since you have no coordination in those things," Mercury decided for her before lifting her up and setting her back down on top of his shoes. Ruby squeaked a little at the action, blinking up at Mercury before glancing at his feet in concern.

"Aren't I hurting your feet?" Ruby asked, frowning slightly.

_What feet?_ The snide remark popped into his mind unconsciously, and he pushed it into the depths of his mind, instead focusing on the petite girl in front of him. She looked up at him with such innocence and trust it made his heart ache, and the concern for his well being caught him off guard. Never would he have thought that someone would ever bother to worry about him.

He didn't outwardly show any of his thoughts, and he merely gave her a teasing smirk as he arched a brow, "You know there's a reason why my team calls you Little Red. You weigh next to nothing, gem."

Ruby glared half-heartedly at him before sighing. Mercury found himself enjoying the warmth emanating from her body, the feel of her body against his surprisingly pleasant. He was still slightly suspicious of Neo and her crazy antics, but Ruby was quickly causing his thoughts to veer away from it. She blinked her silver eyes up at him, curiosity shining in them.

"Mercury...why do you want to dance with me?"

Mercury frowned, "Why are you asking that?"

"Well...It's just that I saw you and Nyx, and…" Ruby kept her eyes pinned on his tie, "I dunno, I thought you two were enjoying yourselves."

He took a second to process that, a devilish smirk creeping across his face as he realized what Ruby's statement implied, "Oh, so would it be wrong for me to assume you were _jealous_ , my little gem?"

"I-I wasn't—" Ruby cut herself off, her face becoming even redder as Mercury's smirk widened. Something changed in her demeanor quickly though, and she raised her brows as she stated, "Well with how you were glaring daggers at Scarlet I can't help but think that _you_ are the jealous one here."

Mercury's eyes widened in surprise at her smug look, before he narrowed his eyes and his smirk returned. He placed Ruby's hand on his shoulder before combing his own hand through the bangs on the right side of Ruby's face and tucking the soft strands behind her ear. Ruby's eyes eased to the side as she unconsciously leant into his touch.

"Hm. I guess both of us were a bit jealous," Mercury commented, leaning his head toward her, "But if it makes you feel any better, you are a much better dance partner, Little Red."

"You're just saying that," Ruby smiled bashfully, her head tilting downward to avoid his gaze.

"Am I? Nyx is like a kid that's revved up on sugar. I'm just glad she let me go and found another victim."

"Another victim…?" Ruby cocked her head slightly, and Mercury tilted his head slightly to the side as a response. Ruby followed his gaze before gasping, quickly followed by a couple giggles, "Aww, poor Scarlet. He has no clue what he's getting into."

Mercury watched as Neo bounced around the dance floor, purposely hip checking Yang with a wink before continuing to dance with Scarlet. The redhead seemed amused by her infinite energy, much to Mercury's surprise, and he went his own pace as he watched Neo antagonize all the people she knew on the dance floor. Yang and Neptune seemed to be her favorite targets. However, one person in particular caught everyone's eye…

"Is that Jaune?" Mercury blurted in pure disbelief before snickering, "In a dress?"

And there he was, in all his glory, Jaune Arc… in a strapless dress with a blue sash around the waist, and sneakers. Ruby began to laugh before burying her head in Mercury's chest, her shoulders heaving in laughter. Mercury glanced down at her in amusement before patting her hair and trying to nod at Jaune with a straight face. His lips were twitching as he spoke though, and a few chuckles slipped out.

"Looking good, Jaune. Who's the lucky lady?"

Jaune grinned at him before pointing to Pyrrha, who was staring in shock, "I have to keep my promises, and this was my promise. Now, if you will excuse me, I can't keep the lady of the evening waiting, and you seem to be occupied yourself…"

Mercury shook his head, offering his closed fist to Jaune, who bumped his fist against it with a grin. The silver haired teen shooed him then with a smirk, "Go get her, Vomit Boy."

Jaune rolled his eyes before addressing Ruby, "Don't teach him that!" He then turned and sauntered off towards Pyrrha.

"Well, that was a thing," Mercury commented, watching as Ruby composed herself and lifted her head away from his chest, "You okay gem?"

"I think I just died of laughter," Ruby giggled, her face flushed. She glanced over at the newly formed couple and her smile morphed into a contemplative frown, "Hey Mercury…you don't think Nyx and the others planned this, do you?"

"Planned what?" Mercury asked warily, furrowing his brows.

"Planned...y'know. This," Ruby gestured between the two of them, "I mean, Blake encouraged me to talk to you, and so did Jaune. Sun brought Scarlet over specifically to talk to me. And then, Nyx made you dance with her even when she knew that I— er…"

Mercury's brows shot up to his hairline as Ruby abruptly stopped, biting her lip and glancing off to the side. He felt his smirk soften into a smile as he tapped her chin with his pointer finger, "Nyx knew what, gem?"

"Uh…" Ruby's silver eyes returned to his face, darting around as if she was searching for something, before she leant upward and pressed her forehead against his. Mercury's eyes widened, and his mouth gaped open slightly as she smiled sweetly at him.

His thoughts suddenly went haywire, the two sides of him arguing as he gazed into Ruby's eyes, those pure pools of silver that streamed compassion. A part of him ordered him to back away, to push her away from him and walk in the other direction, while the other part kept him frozen in this position, craving to keep Ruby close. This wasn't like him, he knew that much. He knew that under normal circumstances, he would merely smirk and give a teasing remark before leaning away, but something was stopping him.

He knew that they were starting to inch closer, but he didn't think much of it as his eyes automatically began to slip closed—

"Hey, mind if I cut in?"

Mercury blinked before looking to his left to see Emerald standing there with her hip cocked out and a warning look in her eyes. He felt a spark of annoyance towards his partner as he narrowed his eyes and arched a brow.

"Sorry for interrupting, but I need to speak with Mercury...it is really important," Emerald stressed, bringing her hand up to her ear and pretending to fiddle with her hair, though Mercury figured out the gesture quickly. Cinder was talking through her earpiece.

"O-Oh, okay…" Ruby bit her lip before reluctantly stepping off of Mercury's feet and backing up a few steps. Mercury found himself not wanting to let go of her.

He sent the silver eyed girl a reassuring smile, "Once I'm done talking with Emerald, I'll find you, okay gem?"

Ruby nodded as she smiled at him, waving once before turning and walking off. Mercury's smile turned into a scowl as he turned to Emerald, "Alright, what is it?"

"Okay, we are talking about what almost just happened there after this," Emerald said in a low voice, glancing around the dance floor, "Cinder is about to make her move toward the CCT. She's asking how much time she has."

"I would probably aim to get back before midnight," Mercury commented. Emerald seemed to listen to Cinder's reply before nodding once.

"Alright. She's on the move."

"Great. Now can I go?" Mercury huffed in annoyance.

"No, we have to do our job," Emerald growled, "Listen, I don't know why you are so adamant in seducing a minor, but remember we're here to observe. If any party guests leave, we have to report it to Cinder and intervene. And you better be careful with her, Mercury. Remember a lot of people are protective of her, and even though she's ditzy she always sticks her nose in business when she shouldn't, what with the Candle and all."

Mercury frowned harshly at Emerald, feeling anger quickly fill him. The way Emerald merely talked about Ruby as if she was just another idiotic student annoyed him, much to his surprise, and he almost, almost, spoke up to defend the silver eyed huntress. He stopped himself though, and his frown turned contemplative as he wondered how this protective streak toward Ruby formed. Even further, he almost just kissed her... _what was she doing with his head?_

He didn't have any sort of reply ready for Emerald, and she was staring at him expectantly. He began shaking his head, opening his mouth to try to formulate a response quickly, but someone jostling his arm stopped him.

"Nyx? What is it?" Emerald questioned with a concerned gleam in her eyes, seeing the panicked demeanor that Neo possessed. Neo showed her scroll to them and bounced on her feet, like she was bothered by having to keep still for a moment.

_{Ruby was at the front doors of the ballroom and she saw the Queen and now she's running after her what do we do?}_

"She's doing what?" Emerald spluttered in incredulity.

"Well, maybe you shouldn't have cut in, huh?" Mercury remarked dryly, though inwardly he felt fear grip him. Cinder would surely kill Ruby or at the very least incapacitate her for a quick escape. He knew that what he was about to do was completely reckless… but he wasn't ready to see Ruby hurt yet. Not if he could stop it without hindering Cinder's plans.

"Nyx, Emerald, stay here. I'm going after her."

"What?!" Emerald's eyes bulged out of her skull as Neo typed another message.

_{Good luck and run fast}_

Mercury nodded before walking towards the front doors.

* * *

Ruby held Crescent Rose out in front of her with one hand as she fumbled with her scroll in the other. The elevator was rising slowly, far too slow for Ruby, and she felt nervousness build up in her, her stomach twisting in knots. That lady dressed in black certainly didn't have good intentions to be slinking around on rooftops at night, and Ruby had no clue how well she could fight. She was committed now though, and she couldn't turn back.

The silver eyed huntress bit her lip in worry at the implications of the lady being here. If she was taking advantage of all the students and professors gathered in the ballroom, what was she planning to do up in the CCT? Ruby sighed, gripping her weapon tightly as she felt the elevator begin to slow.

She tapped into the camera function on her scroll. Ruby didn't know who that lady was, but if she was lucky, she may be able to snap a quick photo of her. The elevator opened with a hiss, and Ruby glanced around the CCT with trepidation, silver eyes wide as she stepped slowly out of the elevator.

"Hello? Is anyone there?" Ruby called, stumbling forward a moment later before righting herself. She glanced at the awkward positioning of her feet before looking up again, "Hello?"

Right when Ruby was about to step forward again, a woman with long dark hair stood slowly from behind the main desk. Since her back was turned, Ruby snapped a few pictures before quickly pocketing her scroll, unsure of how the woman would respond in having her picture taken. As the woman sauntered to the pathway between terminals, Ruby took account of her outfit: a black catsuit that showed far too much of her cleavage and a black mask covering her face. Her eyes glowed an ominous orange.

"Hey, this isn't a masquerade," Ruby began, impulsively coming up with something sassy to say. She blamed Mercury and Nyx, "So why don't you take off that—"

Before Ruby could finish her sentence, the woman took out a vial and spun it in her hand, flipping it open and arching her arm across her body. White glass formed in the air once exiting the vial, and the woman shot her hand forward, sending the glass rocketing towards Ruby.

Ruby gasped before twirling Crescent Rose and blocking the glass from hitting her. She fired three shots at the woman, but the woman merely blocked them with her hand before twirling and forming two obsidian swords in her hands. Ruby leaned back as she twirled Crescent Rose yet again and fired at the ground, propelling herself forward and spiking her scythe into the ground where the woman once was. She had leapt in the air though, and her obsidian swords combined into a bow, three arrows primed to fire. The woman's eyes, arms, and legs glowed orange as she let the arrows fly, and Ruby stumbled back as the arrows exploded on impact with the ground. She stabilized herself and glared at her heels before looking up at the woman, who had just landed on the ground and wasn't looking at her just yet. Ruby scowled.

_Screw you, lady stilts!_

Ruby kicked out her right leg and let her heel fly, and just as the woman looked up, the offending shoe hit her smack in the nose, cracking her mask and causing her to raise her hand to cradle her nose. Ruby kicked off her other heel, but the woman grit her teeth and swatted her hand into the air, and the heel bounced away harmlessly. The woman looked up slowly from her crouched position, and her glare was smoldering. Ruby's eyes widened as she seemed to glow orange again, and a thought came to her. _Those glowing eyes...they look just like the ones that fire lady had in the Bullhead when I first encountered Torchwick...what is she doing here?!_

Ruby grit her teeth, determined to stop this woman even more so than before knowing she was an associate of Torchwick. Knowing the woman would merely block the shots from Crescent Rose, folded up the weapon before crouching low.

"Rrraghhh!" Ruby screamed as she activated her semblance and shot forward, rose petals floating off of her red dress as she skirted past the woman by mere inches. Grr, I missed!

She could hear the whistling of arrows behind her, and saw chunks of the grey floor flying in the corner of her eye. She went to circle around the terminals to try and hit the woman again with her semblance, but exploding arrows blocked her path.

"Agh, new way!" Ruby yipped as she abruptly turned, stray computer monitors and cables flying past her as she doubled back and ended up running along the curved floor-to-ceiling windows, feeling the panty hose covering her feet tear at her activity currently. She turned her head so she was staring at the woman still firing endless arrows at her, and she frowned with a determined look as she discretely took out her scroll and hooked Crescent Rose to her sash.

Ruby feared that the woman's explodey arrows would break the glass she was running on, so Ruby bent her knees and soared toward the fire lady, her speed making her look like a red and black blur. She aimed the camera of her scroll, hitting the button to take the picture, and she earned herself a blurry photo of the woman's face. Ruby twisted to grab Crescent Rose, and as she brought her beloved weapon around, her eyes weren't on the woman. The woman took advantage of this, and sent a ball of fire right for the weapon. She scored a hit, knocking the weapon out of Ruby's hands and leaving it to skid into the far corner, inaccessible to Ruby.

"No!" Ruby gasped in fear, her eyes moving back to the woman. She had broken her bow apart in favor of her obsidian swords, and Ruby was barrelling right towards her, unable to correct her direction in midair. Ruby curled herself into a tight ball, squeezing her eyes shut as she waited for the inevitable slash of the woman's sword.

Only, time seemed to… slow.

Ruby opened her eyes to see that her speed had decreased exponentially, and the fire lady's sword was approaching her much slower than normal when in a fight. In a matter of fact, the lady seemed to be staring right at her, and as the lady blinked — the movement was extremely slow as well — her face slowly morphed into fury.

Before Ruby could process why the time was suddenly moving at a snail's pace, she was suddenly sped up, moving so much faster than she was moments before. She was probably moving faster than she was even before that odd slow in time, and she couldn't do anything but watch helplessly as she sped towards the wall.

She hit the wall with a thud, crumpling to the ground a moment later with a soft whine. She heard a flurry of footsteps behind her as well as the crunching of electronics against the wall as her semblance carried them after her, and in a panic, she used her wobbly arms to push her torso off the ground. Her aura had taken a major beating however, and one glimpse at her scroll showed it was dangerously close to the red level. How was she going to fight this woman with her weapon too far away and her unable to use her semblance now?

"Ruby!"

She blinked, gasping at the voice. _No way…_

"Mercury!" Ruby craned her neck around to see Mercury running toward her, looking almost terrified as he knelt beside her, his silver hair in disarray, "W-Watch out! Th-The fire lady—"

Mercury interrupted her by grabbing her chin and tilting her head as he examined her, "Fire lady? Gem, there's no one else here!"

"What?" Ruby blinked before placing her hands on his shoulders to peer over his shoulder. She scanned the room… and found _nothing. Where on Remnant did she go?! The only way out of here that I know of is the elevator!_

"N–…No! Th-There was a lady and–and she had a mask and—"

"Ruby, Ruby look at me," Mercury took her cheeks in his hands, cradling her face gently, "No one is here. But… why are you here? I saw you leave the dance."

"Yes, I also wish you would answer that question, Miss Rose."

Ruby and Mercury both jolted, turning to the voice. Ruby felt Mercury's arms wind around her waist and pull her close protectively, and she leaned into the comforting embrace as General Ironwood's glare drilled into her.

_How did this day so wrong so fast?_

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Who hates Emerald right now for interrupting? XD


	12. Haunting Voices, Conflicting Emotions

Mercury felt like his world was spinning as he was in direct line of sight of the General with Ruby in his arms. The General looked very unhappy, considering the communications room of the CCT had been almost completely destroyed due to Ruby's fight with Cinder. Scraps of tech were littered everywhere thanks to Ruby's semblance, and a large amount of the floor was cracked from Cinder's fire arrows.

In the back of his mind, a lurking terror was present. He knew that Cinder recognized who exactly interrupted her strike towards Ruby, and if he had any doubt, in the few seconds Ruby was not facing Cinder, her amber eyes had flicked over to him in an instant, seething rage hidden within deceivingly beautiful orbs. He didn't regret his actions, he never did, but he dreaded what he, Emerald and Neo would be met with back at the dorm.

He'd have to convince her that what he did was justified… he knew Neo would support him due to her newfound friendship with Ruby and, by extension, himself, though Emerald's adoration to the Queen put a wrench in that plan. He swore Emerald didn't have a single thought that revolved around something other than gaining the praise of Cinder.

Right now though, his attention was on Ironwood.

"General Ironwo— ah!" Ruby winced as she tried to stand, clutching her side. Mercury saw Ironwood's glare lessen slightly at seeing the young huntress in pain, but wariness and suspicion were still held in his eyes.

"Miss Rose, what are the extent of your injuries?" Ironwood asked in a softer tone, and Ruby glanced at her scroll. Mercury peeked at it to see that her aura was dangerously low, most certainly not enough to protect her completely.

"I…I dunno. I was just running around trying to avoid being shot by the explodey arrows…uh, sorry about the broken…everything," Ruby pouted, silver eyes filled with twinges of pain and, if Mercury was reading it correctly, an inkling of fear.

"Explosive arrows…?" Ironwood mumbled to himself, eyes moving away from the teenagers. Mercury used that opportunity to roll his eyes, "So there was someone besides you two here before I arrived?"

As Ruby nodded, Mercury helped her sit back down on the ground before glancing at Ironwood, "I can help heal her. Just give me a second."

Ironwood frowned, "You have already been taught that technique?"

"My dad taught me," Mercury stated offhandedly, a spark of annoyance jolting through him. His jaw automatically tightened at the memory of him, and he said, "Is Professor Ozpin going to be notified of this?"

"…Eventually. Why do you ask?"

"Well Ruby is one of his students," Mercury shrugged, "You can call the Professor and tell them about this while I heal Ruby."

"Right," Ironwood didn't look to happy that a 'student' was basically telling him to call Ozpin, but he went along with it, "I will return in a moment."

Mercury watched with a critical eye as Ironwood retreated out of hearing distance, and once he watched Ironwood take out his scroll, only then did he turn back to the wounded huntress. Ruby looked beyond confused, and she shook her head for a moment before looking at Mercury.

"What technique is General Ironwood talking about?" She asked distractedly. Mercury frowned but answered anyway.

"It's an old technique used by doctors that have their aura unlocked. They use it on their patients to heal their wounds by channeling their own aura to the patient...or in your case, it'll just speed up the recovery of your own aura," Mercury explained, placing one hand on the side of her neck and holding out his other hand, "It'll just take a few seconds."

"Okay…" Ruby placed her hand in his, and Mercury began to push his aura outwards and toward the young girl. Silver lined his body as Ruby's own bright red aura flickered to life around her, weak but pulsating with life. Her silver eyes began to swirl, almost as if liquidated silver was swishing around her iris', and Mercury felt the familiar rush of iciness in his veins as he leant some of his aura to Ruby.

"Mercury?" Ruby squeaked, curiosity brimming in her eyes, "You said your dad taught you this?"

"Yeah. Why?" Mercury tried to keep the immediate annoyance from his voice at the mere mention of his father.

"Is he a doctor?"

"...not exactly," Mercury mumbled, extremely uncomfortable as to how this conversation turned. He had a feeling Ruby would pester him for more, and he commented vaguely, "He did educate himself in the basic practice of medicine though." _Mostly so he wouldn't have to go to a government licensed doctor should he be injured on the job._

"Oh...so...is he a huntsman? Emerald mentioned that your dad trained you outside the kingdom—"

Ruby abruptly stopped as Mercury closed his eyes and pressed their foreheads together. It worked the way he wanted, distracting Ruby from unknowingly delving into dangerous territory, and he murmured, "Hold on gem. I need to focus here."

"S-Sorry…"

Mercury grinned slightly as he could easily imagine her blush, and he used his aura to goad hers into recovery. It was a relatively simple action, though it took intense concentration in order for it to be effective. He felt her aura flare up slightly, coming alive once his aura came to strengthen hers. He stayed still for a moment before deciding that it was enough, and he let his aura retract from her body and go back to him, the iciness ebbing away quickly.

Opening his eyes, he leant back and took a glance at her scroll, seeing her aura at a higher level it was before. Ruby herself had her eyes closed as red shimmered around her, before it disappeared completely and focused on rejuvenating itself and not projecting itself outward.

"Your aura should do the rest," Mercury stated after a moment, watching as her eyes fluttered open and locked onto him again. She smiled at him, and he felt that odd warm feeling brew yet again deep in his chest. His eyes fell to his hand, which was still resting on the left side of Ruby's neck.

With the absence of his gloves, he was able to feel how smooth her skin was with his palm, and his fingers brushed along the tender skin as he slowly drew his hand away. The stale air rushed to sap away the heat that his palm had gathered from her neck, and the urge to return his hand to her neck was something that he almost couldn't resist.

A voice rang in his mind that caused him to grow cold however, and he banished the urge away quickly.

_:Doing the job with your hands is sloppy work, leaves too much behind to identify you. Y'see, when they struggle, you gotta grip the skin hard, and you leave flakes of your skin on the neck. Made that mistake once in my younger years, and I almost got myself caught. What I'm sayin' is this: if you got nothin' else to strangle 'em, at the very least wear gloves:_

Mercury swallowed hard before abruptly standing, the haunting reminder of him suddenly rooting around in his head. It has been years since Mercury unwillingly conjured up the voice of Marcus in his mind, and now of all times was one of the worst.

"Mercury? Are you okay? You're looking a little…pale."

He glanced down at the soft features of the silver eyed girl, seeing concern and curiosity written all over the contours of her face. He made an effort to grin and bring back his teasing self, reaching down to lift up the tiny huntress in training by her waist. Ruby squeaked slightly at the contact as Mercury replied swiftly.

"I'm okay gem. It's just been a while since I've helped heal another's aura."

"Oh. Okay. And uh, thanks," Ruby said after a moment, and the concern, although less present than before, still lingered in her eyes. It was obvious that she didn't quite believe that he was okay, but she decided not to press the matter, instead asking, "How long did it take for you to learn that trick?"

"Depends on how extensive the injury," Mercury replied with a shrug, "It only took a couple hours to learn how to repair aura, like what I did with you. But with the aura actually depleted and the person I was practicing on was wounded… that took at least a month of practice."

"Huh… well, uh, when we have the time can you teach me that?"

Mercury cocked his head at that, arching a brow as he studied her. She was touching her pointer fingers together, a nervous habit he noticed she possessed. He questioned, "Why do you want to learn it?"

"I dunno," Ruby shrugged, the motion being jerky and unnatural, though her words were sincere, as they always were, "I just thought maybe one day I'd be able to return the favor."

"Hmph," Mercury frowned, feigning insult, "Don't have faith in my abilities, do you gem?"

His deception gave him the desired reaction as Ruby's eyes widened and a look of horror went across her face. He barely withheld a chuckle as she waved her hands wildly and stuttered, "I-I didn't m-mean that! I ju-just meant that it would be a good thing to know how to do, a-and you seem pretty good at it—"

A warm laugh bubbled from his throat, and he grabbed her hands to stop her wild flailing as he interrupted her rant, "Relax. I'll teach you the basics when we find some time."

"T-Thanks," Ruby stuttered, managing a small smile before her silver eyes moved over to Ironwood's form. His back was turned to them, shoulders rigid as he held the scroll tightly in his hand, muttering responses to the voice on the line. Mercury watched as her smile faded, the same expression she had when he first ran to her as Cinder fled beginning to mar her features. Fear.

"You okay?" Mercury prompted, his voice low as he squeezed her hands gently.

"Ye—" Ruby sighed, scuffing her bare foot on the ground, "No…I'm not okay…" She looked up at him, and he was caught off guard at the intensity in which the swirling silver was boring into him, "Mercury, I'm scared."

"…Why?"

"Just…I've seen that fire lady before, and if she was here, then what was she doing?" Ruby stressed, swallowing hard as she downcast her eyes, "I dunno, I just have a bad feeling about it."

His dark eyes seemed glued to her as his stomach flipped in the most uncomfortable of ways. The new emotion, guilt, gnawed at him not because of what he is tasked to do in the future, but because he had to lie. Ruby didn't deserve to have this placed on her shoulders at her age, especially since she was filled to the brim with compassion and empathy, something Mercury had never seen in another before.

Still, he didn't even try to stop himself as he released one of her hands and cupped the back of her neck. His other hand pressed her palm to his chest, and he thought little of the repercussions as he leant forward and pressed his lips tenderly to the creamy skin of her forehead. In his mind, he justified it as a simple gesture of comfort, though unconsciously he knew it was anything but that. He heard her breath hitch, her fingers curling slightly on his chest, and he drew back slightly to press their foreheads together again, just like they did in their dance.

"You've got a big heart, Ruby," Mercury said in earnest, opening his eyes, "And I get you want to protect people… but I wouldn't worry so much about this. What's one woman going to do against Ozpin, Ironwood, Goodwitch, all of them?"

"I…I guess you're right," Ruby bit her lip nervously, shifting on her feet, "I just don't want to see anyone hurt. Not when I could have stopped her from doing...whatever she was doing here."

_Sorry Ruby. You can't stop us_ , he thought grimly, though he masked his thoughts well. He merely smiled as encouragingly as he could and squeezed her arm in reassurance, "Don't be so hard on yourself, gem… it looks like Ironwood has just finished up his call."

Ruby blinked owlishly before she glanced over toward Ironwood, seeing him put away his scroll and begin to turn back around. Mercury drew away from Ruby, drawing her attention back to him with confusion in her features. He grinned, beginning to walk slowly towards the elevator.

"Where are you going?" Ruby asked in confusion, a tremor of nervousness in her voice.

"Well I didn't actually see anything, so I have no information to give," Mercury shrugged, knowing the general would boot him out for confidentiality purposes, "So I'll just get out of your hair," turning to the approaching general, he questioned just in case, "You need me here?"

"Well, do you have anything to note that Miss Rose may not have caught during this small encounter?" Ironwood questioned back. At Mercury's shake of the head, he continued, "Then no, you are free to leave, Mister…?"

"Black. Mercury Black," Mercury replied, only to hear a snigger from the small cookie huntress. He arched a brow at her with a look of confusion.

"S-Sorry, you just, uh, you sounded like the guy in those spy movies," She managed through cute little giggles.

"Oh, you mean…" Mercury bowed slowly, "Bond. James Bond."

Ruby laughed again, and blushed when he sent a wink her way. A clearing of Ironwood's throat knocked them from their teasing, and the general spoke, "Mister Black, if you would be so kind to step out so I may speak with Miss Rose."

Mercury felt a scowl at the edge of his lips as he saw Ruby's face fall at Ironwood's insertion, but he forced it down, "Sure. I'll wait for you at the front of the CCT, okay Ruby?"

"Okay. Thanks Mercury," Ruby smiled slightly, appreciation shown in her eyes. Mercury tried to ignore the sudden twisting of his stomach.

He stepped into the elevator quickly and let the doors close behind him, and he rubbed his eyes as he sighed. Why, out of all the people that could manage to situate themselves under his skin, did an innocent huntress in training have to? Why did she trust him almost to the same amount as her own sister? Although this amount of trust she placed on him made his job all the easier, but he wanted to know why.

He couldn't deny it. He didn't want to watch her burn with the rest of Remnant. Mercury admitted he held little love to most residents of this world, but Ruby seemed to have this odd ability to cast new things into light that he hadn't seen before. He even found appealing traits in the other students Ruby has befriended, no doubt due to her influence. Yang gained a smidgen of respect with her adamant efforts to protect her own, Pyrrha's reasoning behind hiding her semblance was honorable, Blake's silent support and small hints of help were surprisingly comforting, and so much more. Never would he have thought a simple recon mission would surmount to this, with not only him, but also Neo, the ice cream psychopath, bonding with the most innocent student of them all.

There wasn't even the possibility that he could persuade her to join them. Her goal was to protect the innocent, and his was to destroy them. Her passion and drives were too strong to break, and he felt the sickening feeling of helplessness begin to overcome him.

He hated feeling helpless.

The elevator doors opened, and he strolled out absently. His thoughts went in a constant loop of possibilities to solve this. The easiest would be to kill her, in theory. But when he thought about it… he couldn't kill her. A detestable thought bubbled up, one that made him look upon himself in disgust yet another part of him cherished dearly. He _cared_ about her.

_Don't think about it,_ he thought with a cringe. He knew it wouldn't last forever, but he wanted to live in this fantasy for as long as he could, where he played the good guy – well, not necessarily the good guy – and got the girl. But he wouldn't be able to fool himself forever.

Eventually, cinders will taint the air, and his little rose will wilt before them.

* * *

Ruby didn't know what to think after her intense fight with the fire lady. So many thoughts whirled in her head as she pondered what the woman could have been doing here, and she wondered what the woman would have done if Ruby had never shown up. The sickening feeling of dread was heavy in her stomach, like a weight that she couldn't lift off of her. She sat on one of the chairs next to a cracked communications terminal, looking down at her feet clad in torn panty hose and scuffed heels. Crescent Rose was leaning against the terminal beside her feet, and she frowned at a scratch she spotted on her weapon, no doubt from its tumble from her hands.

"Miss Rose, if you would explain," Ironwood asked with a stern look, hands clasped behind his back.

She looked up at Ironwood before beginning, "I was at the dance when I went outside to get away from the crowd a bit… but I saw some lady jumping across the rooftops. I followed her here, and I noticed that she knocked out the guards, so I called my weapon and went after her… and then I kind of ruined this entire level of the CCT. Sorry…"

Ruby hung her head in embarrassment before she heard the General speak, "You say you followed a woman?"

"Yeah. Actually, she looked familiar to me, and I actually managed to take a few pictures of her—"

"You mean you managed to take a picture of her face?" Ironwood questioned urgently, his eyes wide as he took a few steps forward and lost his strict posture.

"Well… kind of. She had a mask," Ruby bit her lip, drumming her fingers on her knee, "But I could see her eyes at least."

Ironwood paced for a moment, tapping his finger to his chin, "Miss Rose, I would like to see these photos for myself. If we are lucky, there could be just enough for a facial recognition."

Ruby went to reply, but the elevator gliding open caused her to pause. She glanced over to see her headmaster, and she blinked, "Professor Ozpin?"

"Hello there, Miss Rose," Ozpin greeted the silver eyed girl with a small smile, "I've been told that you've had a particularly eventful night."

"That's kind of an understatement," Ruby laughed awkwardly as she rubbed the back of her neck, "I guess I find a way to spend time on the battlefield despite having the day off…"

"Hmph. So it would seem," Ozpin smiled slightly in amusement before his coffee colored eyes glided to Ironwood, "Now as much as this situation would be deemed as urgent, I believe Miss Rose would require a good night's rest in order to collect herself, am I correct?"

"Ozpin, this breach of security must be addressed immediately—"

"And I must take priority in the health of my students. Ruby, why don't you head downstairs? I believe Mister Black is awaiting you at the front of the tower," Ozpin suggested to the young girl, who looked between the Professor and General in curiosity.

"Uh...sure thing Professor. Thank you," Ruby nodded, grabbing her weapon and standing unsteadily on her feet, "Should I stop by your office sometime…?"

"We can discuss this in detail tomorrow morning, with Glynda also present. I can send a time to your scroll. Go get a good night's rest, Miss Rose," Ozpin encouraged with a slow nod, and Ruby blinked before smiling slightly.

"Okay. Thank you Professor," Ruby made her way to the elevator unsteadily before pressing the button for the ground floor. She looked back at the two imposing men and said in parting, "Have a good night Professor Ozpin and General Ironwood!"

"Good night, Miss Rose. And if you would be so kind to keep a level of discretion over this incident?" Ozpin asked, though it was more of a polite demand rather than a request.

"Of course, Professor," Ruby nodded after a moment.

The elevator doors closed, and Ruby knew that they would end up arguing the moment she was out of earshot. They certainly seemed to clash on their methods of dealing with situations, that's for sure…

She shook the thought of the two imposing men arguing away. Inwardly, the spark of pure fear and panic still brewed, and her mind ran wild. What could she do to stop that woman and Torchwick? How could she fight a terrorist organization with so little materials and so little manpower? She realized the White Fang itself was enemy to all the kingdoms, but the head of one its main players was right here, in Vale. And they just kept growing stronger…

Ruby frowned. She refused to let this consume her, not like how Yang's pursuit for her mother had done as such all those years ago. After all, she would be a hypocrite to push Blake away from the very thoughts she was having. She just had to put faith in the defenses of the kingdoms and the tactical brilliance of Professor Ozpin and General Ironwood.

Funny to think at first she had fantasized that Team RWBY would become known as the huntresses in training to take down an illustrious crime lord. She realized now that she couldn't romanticize these sorts of things.

That didn't mean she and her team couldn't provide some help on the side, however.

With a new form of conviction overcoming her, she smiled a bit. If anything, she would save innocents along the way, just like those heroes in the fairytales. As long as she made a difference in someone's life, she'll be happy.

The elevator doors slid open yet again, and she wandered through with a shaky step due to the pumps on her feet. She kept her eyes planted on the floor in front of her, her heels wobbling on the cobblestone, and she sucked her bottom lip between her teeth in concentration. Making it to her locker that was stuck into the cobblestone, she placed Crescent Rose inside with the utmost care and sent the locker back to its rightful resting place. Ruby then turned to head toward her dorm when suddenly she was being lifted into the air.

"What the— Mercuryyyy!"

"What?" The silver haired teen grinned at the silver eyed girl, "It was pretty obvious you weren't getting anywhere anytime soon."

Ruby made a small huff before crossing her arms childishly and looking away from Mercury with her chin tilted upwards. It was a bit difficult to ignore him when he was carrying her bridal style, but by dust she's going to try it!

"Aw, come on gem, don't be like that," Mercury cooed, the playful lit still in his voice, "Don't deprive me from seeing that pretty face."

That quickly got her to blush, and her head snapped back over to him so fast she had to blink to reorient herself. Her eyes went wide as he was still grinning at her, and she opened her mouth to try and form a response.

"U-Uh… Y-You're being mean s-so maybe I wa-want to deprive you of it!"

Well, she certainly didn't mean to say that, but it elicited an interesting response. Mercury's grin went lax and his eyebrows shot upwards in surprise, his own eyes widening to rival her own. He recovered quickly, but she felt that it was a small victory to throw him off guard.

"Well aren't you a cruel one?" He chuckled, and she smiled a bit in response.

"I blame you and Nyx for corrupting me."

"That does seem to be my specialty," Mercury agreed with a smirk and a nod, causing Ruby to giggle before she plopped her head onto his shoulder with little thought.

She felt the muscles coil in his shoulder at the contact, but just as fast the muscles relaxed and he seemed to pull her closer to his chest. Ruby took this chance to peer up at him from underneath her eyelashes, taking in how his normally sharp smirk had melted away into a softer grin, and his dark eyes weren't narrowed critically, but wandering as he strolled ahead. She liked it when his teasing self faded away, and she was even happier to observe that this new side of him really only showed after she cracked through his armor, so to say.

Ruby couldn't help but be quizzical about some things though. She wondered why he became so curt and evasive once his father was mentioned, and how he seemed to double his efforts in distracting her from it. She had picked up on that too, where she would broach a subject that was too sensitive for his liking and suddenly, he would be tangling his fingers in her hair with that cocky grin. Not that she minded the innocent touches, but it made her more curious as to what he was hiding.

She didn't dare ask, at least not tonight. Her mind was still muddled from the fight, most of her energy flowing directly to aura recovery, and she stifled a large yawn. Ruby resisted a deep blush when Mercury angled his chin so he could look at her down his nose.

"Is my little gem tired?" He asked teasingly, and Ruby rolled her eyes before smiling a little.

"Well I did kind of fight with a fire lady after being out for hours in a sweaty ballroom full of people."

"The ballroom doesn't count, you were on my feet half the time," Mercury rebuked smoothly, nudging the door to the dorms open with his foot before continuing, "And speaking of which, did you actually manage to get any hits on this mysterious fire lady?"

"Uh… well I didn't really get any swings with Crescent Rose in…"

Mercury raised a brow, "What about punches? Kicks?"

Ruby diverted her eyes to the side, embarrassed, "W-Well, no… b-but I cracked her mask!" Mercury's disbelieving look had her spluttering, "It's true! I kicked my pumps off my feet and hit her in the face with them!"

Mercury fell silent quickly, and Ruby furrowed her brows in confusion before she spotted the twitching of his lips. She sent a smoldering glare up at him, a blatant warning conveyed that said don't you dare before he completely ignored said warning and lost his composure, his upper body curling around her as he stumbled for balance through cackles.

"Mercury, it's not funny!"

"I-It—" Mercury coughed through a laugh, somehow managing to open the door to her dorm room while doing so, "It's pretty funny, gem. I guess you're right though — heels are walking death traps."

Ruby gaped, "…did you just—"

She was interrupted by Mercury letting her flop onto Weiss' bed with a huff of air, and she pouted childishly as Mercury chuckled and plopped down beside her.

"You're such a jerk," Ruby whined childishly, tucking her legs underneath her and crossing her arms. Her attempts to glare at him failed as she watched his face morph into an odd tear between amusement and fear, and he shook his head.

"She could have killed you," Mercury coughed through his laughter, and Ruby had a sinking feeling that his laughter was no longer from amusement.

"Merc—"

Ruby was caught off guard as she was pulled violently to him, her cheek smashing against his chest as he wrapped his arms around her like a python entrapping its victim. She felt his hands ball up the fabric of her dress and the press of his nose to her scalp.

"She could have _killed_ you, Ruby," He said gravely, and she was again thrown in a new pool of astonishment at the thickness of the emotion in his voice. She realized a moment later that he was very, very right. That fire lady could have killed her easily, but only when she angered her did the lady really try to do so. If Mercury didn't show up…

Tentatively, she slithered her arms out of his tight hold to wrap them around his neck, hooking her chin on his shoulder, "I-I'm sorry that I worried you so much…"

She felt more than heard Mercury sigh, felt the compression of his chest before he loosened his grip on her slightly and cradled the nape of her neck in his palm, "Just don't run off like that without at least finding someone, okay gem?"

Ruby didn't like how he hinted that she might be helpless in a fight, but she shook the thought away in favor of just agreeing for the time being. Anything to get Mercury out of this state.

"So… did you see who that woman was? What she looked like?" Mercury probed after Ruby pulled away slightly to see his face, "You mentioned you cracked her mask."

"Oh… uh. Well, I didn't really see her face… only her glowy eyes. I uh, I can't really tell you anything else though."

"Why?"

Little did Ruby know that Mercury was merely ensuring she didn't see Cinder's face that would be recognizable. If Ruby didn't see anything, then not only would it bolster Mercury's side to the inevitable argument between Cinder's little faction of thieves and murderers. Not to mention it would take some of the heat off Ruby.

He's really got to stop making puns.

"I…was told not to tell you," Ruby admitted, "By uh… by Professor Ozpin."

"Really?" Mercury's eyes widened, "I guess I can't ask any more questions unless I want some angry professor's knocking on my door, hm?"

Ruby giggled a little, bringing a lopsided grin to Mercury's face. She pushed him playfully as she said through her laughter, "Don't say that!"

He chuckled along with her until they went silent, basking in the simple presence of companionship. Mercury ruffled her hair with his hand, ignoring her meek protests.

"Glad you're safe, gem."

The words tumbled out without his permission, and he nearly hit himself immediately upon uttering it. His logical side screamed at him whenever Ruby was in his presence and despite himself knowing full well he should listen to it, he found himself not wanting to.

He was dooming her for getting this close, that much he knew, and he didn't want to think about the consequences once the next phase commenced.

Ruby, who was completely oblivious to Mercury's inner monologue, blushed as she responded shakily, "T-Thanks for checking up on me… I appreciate it."

Mercury merely shrugged with a noise of acknowledgement, and he watched as Ruby ducked her head in embarrassment. Impulsively, he entangled his fingers into her bangs, and he twirled the soft locks around. He saw her smile a little as her silver eyes darted to the hand in her hair.

"Do you have a fascination with my hair or something?" Ruby giggled in amusement.

"Possibly," Mercury smirked before bringing his other hand up to tangle in the red-dipped locks on the other side of her face, and he chuckled as she rolled her eyes. A moment later and he added, "Too bad we couldn't finish our dance."

"About that…" Ruby smiled awkwardly, "I uh… I had fun."

Before he could reply, she leaned forward and pressed her lips to his cheek firmly, closing her eyes as she did so. Mercury's eyes widened as she did this, his fingers still tangled in the tresses of her hair as he felt the warmth of her soft lips on his cheek. Neither moved for a few moments, and Ruby withdrew slightly after a couple seconds passed, but stayed in his orbit as Mercury turned his head slightly to look at her.

"Why'd you do that?" Mercury cleared his throat roughly, though it still sounded slightly gravelly.

"Returning the favor I guess…I dunno," Ruby shrugged, biting her lip. Neither moved, and after a moment, Ruby said quietly, "Mercury, what are we doing?"

"…Dunno."

And Mercury didn't know. He didn't know why he felt compelled to stay close to her, nor did he know why he felt his constant calculating gaze melt away when she came into frame. At first he kept his composure. At first, he thought of her as merely something to pass by the time. Why couldn't he keep that mindset? It frustrated him to no end, the inability to figure out this pressure building in his chest when she looked at him with such softness, such innocence, and while a part of him felt the urge to lash out, the other part drowned in the simple gesture.

While in his thoughts, he didn't notice how he drifted forward slightly, and once her breath hit his lips his eyes darted to her mouth quickly. He heard Ruby's breath hitch, heard her swallow in nervousness as she blinked repeatedly at him with wide eyes. His hands were still tangled in her hair, but she made no move to remove them, made no move to pull away.

"Mercury?"

"…Yes, gem?"

"I…I wanted to—" Ruby stopped herself, seemingly struggling with what she wanted to say, until she sighed and placed her hand upon his left cheek, brushing the pad of her thumb against the sensitive skin beneath his eye.

Mercury jolted slightly at this, but in feeling the warmth of her palm heat his skin, he smirked devilishly, seeing Ruby give a slight smile in return. He knew they were drifting closer, and he knew how close he was drawing to Ruby's lips, but he made no move to stop it.

He saw her eyes begin to slip closed, and he followed suit, unable to halt his progression towards her. He had a sudden craving to know how her lips felt against his, wanted to know how it would feel to hold her in his arms as he claimed her mouth with his, and his lips began to feel her phantom touch before—

_"Ruby, are you in here?"_

The door sprung open and they were snapped from their daze, Ruby righting herself to sit stiffly on Weiss' bed as Mercury jumped up from his seated position, hands positioned on his hips. Weiss strutted in only to falter in her walk to stare blatantly at Mercury and Ruby.

"Uhm… hello Mercury. Why are you here?" Weiss questioned carefully, blue eyes narrowed slightly as they darted between the pair.

"Just checking up on Ruby," Mercury replied smoothly and without a hitch, though, to his chagrin, he inwardly felt beyond flustered. His skin tingled in the places where Ruby had touched him, and his fingers twitched as they craved to grab at Ruby's hair and pull her in for a kiss. But the moment had passed, and he had to leave _at once._

"Well… that's rather kind of you," Weiss stated with some doubt, but said nothing else of the matter, "I'm just going to hop in the shower… don't mind me…"

Weiss quickened her pace to the bathroom and shut it quickly, no doubt stunned and disoriented as much as they were. Mercury found himself glaring hard at the ground, angry at how jittery he felt currently, and didn't notice Ruby stand with an unsure look before walking over to peer in his line of sight.

"Mercury, are you okay?" Ruby asked as she swayed close to him, hand hovering under his chin as she peered up at him. Her face was flushed still, but he didn't bother to point it out to tease her, "I… I'm sorry if that wasn't— if you aren't—"

_:Seducing a target? I don't normally go for it, but some of the other guys do. Get 'em distracted with a few smooches and glide the knife in—:_

He needed to leave, now.

He took a step back, and his heart wrenched when he saw Ruby's face crumple. He didn't know what to do, because he wanted to stay but the echoes of Marcus Black's voice were forcing themselves to the surface, and he didn't want to do something that he'll regret.

In an effort to convey what he wanted to say, despite not knowing what he wanted to say, he grabbed her outstretched hand and squeezed it for a moment before dropping it quickly. Everything just seemed too bright and sensitive right now—

"I'll— I'll see you around, gem."

_Weak. That sounded just pathetic, Mercury._

"Mercury, wait!"

_I'm sorry Ruby, I'm so sorry._

He needed to find Neo and Emerald.


	13. Newfound Suspicion

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> I've waited so long to write Roman :D

Ever since the day Cinder backhanded her so hard that she could see stars, Emerald had feared Cinder. Her fear didn't override her want to do right by the Fire Queen, but it was put to the forefront of her mind, a very lucid reminder whenever she dared to step even slightly out of line that Cinder would not hesitate to punish her severely. Sometimes it got to her head, but Emerald ignored the voice in the back of her head, nagging at her and whispering words of doubt about the seductress of a boss she had.

She had ignored it even before, where it questioned her harshly over why she stole from an innocent man, or purposely subjected a family to torment as she snuck out a window late at night with her pockets full of lien. She ignored it when she held that poor girl's arm and pressed her knee into the center of her back, and watched as Cinder drained the life out of her.

It wasn't ideal, but Emerald was the happiest she was going to get.

But now, she was in jeopardy. So were Neo and Mercury. Emerald dreaded returning to the dorm and having to face Cinder's wrath, and she certainly didn't want to explain her side while staring into golden eyes twinkling with a hidden power.

Immense pain was a very prominent factor in her line of work.

So why was it that she was risking her neck even more so than before by standing outside the ballroom with Neo as she impatiently awaited her silver haired partner? Because his message to her seemed off. While face to face, he was teasing and generally a pain in the ass, but while in a message he is curt and straightforward, no emotion whatsoever. That...wasn't how Mercury sounded in the message.

_Butcher: {I need to talk to you and Neo outside the ballroom now. It's important}_

Normally she wouldn't be that concerned, but it was the vagueness of the message as well. Mercury would at the very least use well crafted sentences to give her the basic idea of what's wrong through code words so the lingering eye wouldn't draw a meaning behind it right away, but here, he gave no hints at all. Emerald glanced at Neo again, who was happily nibbling on a biscuit she snatched from the snack table before skipping out the door after Emerald. Neo didn't seem very concerned, but then again, Neo didn't see the message nor did she know Mercury as well as Emerald did. And she was a little annoyed that her crazed dancing with Scarlet was cut short, but that was another matter.

Quick, heavy steps sounded off to her right suddenly, and she turned expectantly to Mercury, who was approaching swiftly with his hands stuffed into his coat pockets. She frowned once she realized he was deliberately hiding his face, and she opened her mouth to voice her concerns.

"Mercury, what are you— hey!"

Mercury grabbed ahold of Emerald's arm roughly as well as Neo's shoulder, and he towed them to the side of the building, out of sight from any party goers. Emerald growled before yanking her arm out of his grasp, rubbing the angry imprint of his hand with a huff before spitting, "You know Merc, you could have just told us to come here and not have yanked my arm out of its socket."

No response. Now Emerald was really worried.

She looked up at Mercury and peered through the thick blackness of the night to see a multitude of emotions flying across his face over and over, like he was thinking through something and it caused the same range of feelings burst through him like a cycle. Anger, sadness, uncertainty, confusion, guilt...what?

Mercury and guilt certainly didn't mix.

"Where have you been all this time?" Emerald questioned quickly, having a very good idea as to where he was already.

"Brought Ruby back to her dorm," Mercury stated, already pacing back and forth. Neo frowned, her green eyes fading away in favor of her brown and pink. She typed out a message and handed the scroll over, and the contents caused Mercury to scowl, "For the love of— we didn't freaking _make out_ Neo!"

"I— what?" Emerald shook her head, "Alright, whatever, you two can sort that out later. What's got you into this funk? Obviously you didn't kiss the little brat."

She was frozen in place as he sent a murderous glare her way, trickles of moonlight hitting his eyes and making the dark color gleam ominously in the dark. She blinked her crimson orbs, holding his gaze and fearing just how unstable Mercury was right now. Surprisingly, he ducked his head and sighed wearily.

"I-...I almost kissed her."

_Again?_ Emerald thought flippantly at first, resisting rolling her eyes. His jaw was tense, twinging from time to time underneath the pressure he was exerting on it, and Emerald swallowed nervously before broaching, "Why?"

His eyes found hers again, an intensity beaming towards her that almost made her flinch, "You have to promise me you won't tell Cinder."

Emerald gaped, "Why should Cinder not be—"

"Listen Em," Mercury cut in harshly, "I am already neck deep in trouble because of Ruby slipping out, we all are. I don't want to risk anything else with Cinder, and while I know ice cream girl over there won't say— er, type anything, you can."

"I—" Emerald stopped and stared at Mercury for a moment, and she could see in her peripherals that Neo turned her multicolored gaze toward her as well. Eventually Emerald relented, realizing that Mercury would normally not ask her of something like this, and despite her hating his guts from time to time, they were partners and had to watch each other's backs, "Alright, I won't say anything. What is it?"

Mercury looked relieved yet tense at the same time, and he rolled his shoulders uncomfortably before raking a hand through his hair, "I...I don't—" He stopped, frowning angrily, "I care about her a lot. But she's a huntress."

Emerald gaped yet again, shaking her head, "You care about...Mercury, she's just another bratty little kid with a big scythe and slices mindlessly at Grimm! What is there to—"

"She is _not_ another bratty kid," Mercury growled, silencing Emerald once more. Neo took a few hesitant steps toward the teen coiled tight with anger and new emotions he did not want. She typed another note, holding it up to him, and he shook his head.

"Had the same thought today Neo. Ruby won't switch sides because the only reason she's training to be a huntress is because she wants to help the innocent. Exact opposite to our agenda."

Neo deflated at that, and Emerald palmed her forehead, feeling a migraine coming quick. She twirled one of the locks of her mint green hair around her finger as she chewed on her bottom lip, just trying to wrap her head around the rather awkward and dangerous situation Mercury managed to wedge himself in. She cast a cautious look toward him, "You're not thinking of...leaving or anything right?"

His eyes bulged out of his skull as he processed her assumption. He hadn't even considered that, and although it was an interesting idea, he refused to put thought into it. That was leagues more dangerous than merely building a relationship with Ruby, and it would likely lead to his little gem's death.

"No...that would just make her a target."

"Mercury, listen to yourself," Emerald began desperately, knowing Cinder would have their heads if she even found out that they had this conversation, "You're talking about developing deep emotions for a girl you met just recently. It sounds insane. Look, the best option at this point would be to just cut off contact with her, or do something that puts her off from wanting to spend time with you."

"I don't want to," Mercury admitted quietly, "I can't. I kept ignoring it and now if I stay in contact she dies, and if I pull away she dies. Emerald, I don't want her to die," He growled in aggravation, kicking at a lone pebble on the ground, "Why don't I want to see her hurt?"

"Then...then she won't die," Emerald offered weakly, shocked at the amount of emotion Mercury was showing, be it accidental or not. His dark look toward her caused more word vomit to spill out, "Cinder...we can just direct her away. Or, or something. I don't flipping know Mercury!"

"You honestly think that Cinder would spare her if I asked?" Mercury laughed hollowly, like he was mocking her, "Oh Em, bury your head in the sand some more why don't you."

Her eyes narrowed, and she snarled on instinct, "What does that mean?"

"I'm saying you're a blind idiot if you actually think Cinder gives a damn about you, me, all of us beyond just intel and fulfilling her plan."

"I don't—"

"You remember when Cinder put you on the ground for talking out against letting me tag along," Mercury continued mercilessly, taking out his frustrations on an easy target, "Voice something she doesn't like, and wham! You get put in your place and you deal with it, or you die by her hand. You know what she's done. Cast the blindfold off and realize you're just another pawn to her."

"Stop it!" Emerald wound her arms around her torso tightly, squeezing her eyes shut as she tried vehemently to deny and rebuke his words in her head. A part of her knew, a part of her was singing loudly at her to just listen, but she refused. She could at least try and listen to Mercury's indirect plea for help concerning Ruby, but she just couldn't think that Cinder thought of her in the way he was claiming. Cinder took her off the streets, gave her clothes and food and shelter, she wouldn't do that just to cast her aside years later once Emerald did all she asked and gave all she could...right?

"Look, we aren't talking about Cinder right now, we're talking about your late night affairs with a fifteen year old," Emerald evaded his argument.

Mercury rolled his eyes before crossing his arms and leaning primarily on his left foot, chin tilted down as he thought hard. Emerald watched with baited breath as he exhaled through his nostrils and shook his head, eventually speaking, "I think she thinks she did something wrong, or something. I ran out once we got, uh...interrupted."

Neo, who hadn't been able to butt into the conversation at any time, waved her hand wildly between them before showing her scroll to Mercury. Emerald slid over to him and peeked at the message Neo typed as well.

_{Do you want me to talk to her or something? I mean, it's pretty obvious you're freaked out over something that goes beyond just nearly smooching a pretty girl}_

Emerald didn't even understand how Mercury was able to function at this point, because if she was in a situation like this, she would have just ran as fast as she could in the opposite direction. She only knew bits and pieces of this odd relationship between Ruby and Mercury, and she could tell that Neo knew much more, but whenever she tried to comprehend it and lend help her head started spinning like crazy.

Neo did have a point though. Mercury was a ladies man, and he wouldn't simply run away because he became shy at the last second.

"It's complicated," Mercury said bluntly, an iciness detectable in his tone, "It has to do with...with Marcus."

Emerald blinked, understanding a bit better now. She didn't know much about Marcus Black, though she did get bits and pieces from Mercury's offhand comments and the few and far between nightmares Mercury suffers in which he mentions his father often in. Not to mention it rang a few alarm bells when she first met Mercury as he was standing over Marcus' corpse…

"Did he ever say anything about…" Emerald trailed off, not exactly sure what Marcus would have said before to haunt Mercury in this situation. Killing methods possibly?

"A lot of his teachings stick in my mind, but his way of describing them, teaching them...it gets a little disturbing," Mercury stated calmly, as if he was commenting about the weather. It was when Ruby was mentioned did his voice waver slightly, "I just...once the Ice Queen walked in and I actually thought about what I was doing, and with my hands close to her neck, I remembered what Marcus said about...about seducing a target to make an easy kill."

Emerald felt sick to her stomach then, the back of her hand pressing to her lips as she bit back the want to vomit. Marcus Black was a sick person, no doubt, and from what she knew of him...well, it's like he acted just like Mercury did on a bad day every day. And even then, Mercury had a semblance of control over himself that Marcus probably didn't.

"So...what are you gonna do?" Emerald questioned, having given up on trying to convince him of abandoning Ruby. Mercury shrugged.

"I guess I'm going to have to fix things...somehow."

The crumpled expression on his face was not something Emerald ever wanted to see, and the worst part was, they hadn't even faced Cinder just yet.

She cast away the cold barrier she had placed between them, and took hold of his shoulders, noticing he tensed in surprise and blinked at her. Emerald swallowed thickly, spilling out the first thing she could think of that might calm him.

"Neo and I are with you… partners, right?" Emerald offered, trying to smile. Mercury seemed slightly relieved at that, and she felt the need to address one more thing, "Now...I'm just making sure… are you certain that you have feelings for her? 'Cause that's...not you, to be honest."

Mercury shrugged then, slightly more relaxed than he was moments before, "Well, for one I don't sneak looks at your ass anymore. Don't feel tempted to anymore."

"If you're su—" Emerald stopped, her eyes bulging out of her skull, "Wait, _WHAT?!_ "

* * *

Ruby didn't know how long she stared at the door once it slammed shut. Never had she seen Mercury so… so afraid before, and it left her more confused and hurt than ever. He hadn't been opposed to any of the advances in their relationship before, and he hadn't backed away when they nearly kissed during the dance, so why now? Did he control his panic in the ballroom so he wouldn't make a scene? No, if he had reacted in the way that he did just now, he would have never followed after her. What was that?

"Ruby? Are you okay?" Weiss questioned warily as she exited the bathroom, her snow white hair wrapped in a towel and her white nightgown covering her body, "I thought I heard the door slam…"

"Oh, uh, i-it's fine Weiss! I was just— Mercury, he—" Ruby snapped her most shut, her teeth clacking horridly at the action, and she ignored her now aching jaw as she asked breathlessly, "Is-Is Pyrrha back from the dance? Or, or Blake?"

"Well… Blake isn't but Pyrrha said she would be heading back soon with Jaune… why—"

"I'll meet her halfway then!" Ruby said hurriedly, stumbling to her feet as she kicked off her pumps, "I'll see you in the morning, Weiss!"

"What the— Ruby!"

The silver eyed girl ignored her partner in favor of flying out of the door with the aid of her semblance, leaving rose petals in her wake as she squinted through the hazy night air. She scanned the area, hoping to find one of the more level headed friends she had among the students slowly trickling out of the ballroom. She couldn't talk to Yang, because she just barely came to terms with the fact that Mercury was her friend to stay, and Nora was simply to energetic to form a comprehensive thought on the matter. That took Ren out of the possible friends she could lament to, since Nora was an unspoken accessory whenever he was concerned. That left Blake, Jaune, and Pyrrha, and Ruby flexed her fingers before spotting a familiar mane of bright red hair.

_Thank everything under the sun!_

"Pyrrha!" Ruby raised a hand to get the redhead's attention, seeing that Jaune was standing beside her with his hand in her own. If it were under any other circumstance, Ruby would have teased him about it.

"Oh, hello Ruby!" Pyrrha greeted happily, only for her smile to falter as she noticed Ruby's expression, "Is something wrong?"

"I… yeah," Ruby said breathlessly as she stopped in front of the couple, "I-I need your input on Mercury. It's just, something weird happened and I don't know why he did what he did and I'm wondering if I messed something up and—"

"Perhaps we should find a more private place to talk?" Pyrrha interrupted with a worried look and a gentle hand on Ruby's shoulder, "We can go back to my dorm… you don't mind if Jaune is present, do you?"

"Oh, uh, no he's fine! Maybe, uhm, maybe he can help too!" Ruby tried her best to smile, though she was jittery and shaking slightly. She wanted to talk to Mercury, find out what was wrong, but at the same time she was afraid to make him react like that again.

Jaune and Pyrrha shared a look, and, with Ruby oblivious to their silent communication, agreed to distract the silver eyed girl until they made it to the dorm. Jaune slung an arm around Ruby's shoulders and hugged her to his side, "Alright Rubaby, let's go."

Ruby stared blankly, "Please stop calling me that."

"Heh, nope."

Ruby didn't offer any more protest, and she cast her eyes to the ground as they walked, depending entirely on Jaune to guide her the right way. She could sense the concerned looks toward her from Jaune and Pyrrha, but she didn't look up in fear of blurting out more jumbles of words and tried to get her head in the right place.

"Alright, we're here," Pyrrha announced as she opened the door and allowed Ruby to walk in first, with Jaune's hands on her shoulders. Ruby heard Pyrrha close the door silently, and she allowed Jaune to direct her to sit on Pyrrha's bed as Pyrrha sat beside her and Jaune moved to his own.

"So, what did you want to ask me about?" Pyrrha asked patiently. Pyrrha examined Ruby's expression and added quietly, "Did something happen that I should be aware of?"

"I— woah!" Ruby quickly objected, somehow catching onto her meaning rather fast, "No no, he didn't, didn't force me to do anything, he wouldn't do that! It's just— I… he—"

The silver eyed girl inhaled sharply before promptly plopping her face into her hands, saying in a broken voice, "I think I messed things up really bad."

Pyrrha placed her hands on Ruby's shoulders, gently drawing the smaller girl to lean on her, and asked softly, "Well, why don't you start from the beginning?"

Ruby calmed herself by breathing in and out in large yet slow breaths, her eyes finding the calm, crisp emeralds of Pyrrha's. She collected her thoughts and made a split second decision to tell Pyrrha and Jaune of everything that happened after that... _encounter_ with that fire lady. Ruby opened her mouth, beginning to speak.

"Okay, so Mercury found me and we decided to go back to my dorm…"

* * *

Glass heels clicked on the ground as the Fire Queen paced with a simmering rage underneath her skin. She could see from the corner of her eye the slight quiver in Emerald's body, the tense posture of Mercury, and the childish aloofness of Neo. Her scowl deepened at that observation, and she twirled towards them with regal poise before she let the power of the Fall Maiden bring an unnatural brightness to her amber eyes.

"I must say that I did not expect a blunder of this caliber from my most trusted associates," Cinder began calmly, already reading what she could from the pawn's reactions, "And I certainly did not expect such a foolish move that resulted in the near exposure of my identity to the young rose. Now, if you would explain yourselves before I decide how to deal with this."

Immediately, as Cinder expected, Emerald began to blubber out apologies, "I-I'm sorry we didn't meet your expectations ma'am, we just didn't expect Ruby to—"

"I did not ask you to predict another's actions," Cinder cut in harshly, deciding that this alone was enough to cause Emerald to wither, which was proven true already as Emerald hunched her shoulders and curled slightly into herself, "I asked you to observe. And you all failed to do so."

"We… we tried to catch her—"

"Which brings me to another matter," Cinder interrupted sharply, eyes seeking out Mercury's, "Why is it that the time around the little pest and I became convoluted just as I was about to strike her? Explain that to me."

"W-Well—"

"Silence," Cinder glared at Emerald, "I wish for Mercury to answer this."

Mercury's face was a blank slate, but Cinder could see the tension in his shoulders, and the twitch of his fingers as they wanted to curl into fists. She cocked her head with sick amusement as he didn't reply for a long moment, gears turning in his head as he formulated a response.

"I'm waiting."

This seemed to spark a confidence in Mercury, surprisingly enough, "You were angry. You let it get to your head."

Cinder's eyes flared, ignoring the look of horror Emerald shot Mercury's way as well as Neo's blink in surprise, "Excuse me?"

"I mean it. Ruby got a hit on you, you got angry, and you nearly killed off our main source of information for students so far," Mercury stated bluntly, "Not only that, but the death of a student would most likely delay if not cancel the Vytal Festival, and in extension, your plans. Stopping you from making the killing blow only seemed logical."

Her anger faded slightly. Mercury's logic was sound… but she couldn't help but feel like there was more to it. Cinder was no fool, and her gut was telling her Mercury was hiding something. And while she couldn't use pain to extract the information she needed from him…

"Hm. That is a valid claim, but it does not change that Little Red could identify me now. And if that happens, then the entire plan may crumble because of it."

"Ruby doesn't know who you are," Mercury shook his head, "I made sure to talk to her about it. She only knows you as the masked woman."

In the few seconds she had to calculate and create a reply, she pondered on Mercury's actions in the past week. He hadn't been answering his scroll nearly as frequently, reported in to her even less so, and stayed out late with the little rose and her friends to… supposedly gain intel. Though could it be possible that he…?

"Mercury, are you fond of Ruby Rose?" She asked calmly as she stalked towards him with a slow stride.

He showed no tells, and stared blankly. But Emerald flinched and surprisingly… so did Neo.

"Ah… so that would be a yes."

"No ma'am," Mercury replied in a clipped tone, "She's cute, that's it."

"Hmm…" Cinder stopped before him with narrowed eyes, "I do not like liars. But… I will give you one chance to prove your claim, Mercury."

"And what exactly do I have to do to prove it?"

"What every murderer is best at," Cinder purred, smiling as Mercury tensed even more so than before, "After all the pieces are in place, and right before chaos rains down on Vale, you are to eliminate Ruby Rose. I will notify you when you are supposed to do so exactly."

Emerald was biting her lower lip with wide eyes. Neo was twisting her fingers together, looking between Cinder and Mercury. And, to her curiosity, Mercury was dead still, unblinking and unmoving.

"Is there a problem, Mercury?" Cinder cocked her head, "I never would expect that a man trained for murder such as yourself would be opposed to such things."

"I didn't say I opposed it," Mercury's tone was still curt, clipped, "There's just nothing else to say about it. I'll do it."

Interesting, Cinder mused, but kept her thoughts carefully hidden. She instead replied smoothly, "I'm pleased to see you are still cooperative. I'd really hate to see such an able associate…" Cinder grasped Mercury's knees, where the joints of his prosthetics bent, and subtly heated up her hands, " _snap_ under the weight of his decision."

Just as quickly as she broadcasted her threat, she let go and twirled gracefully away, sashaying toward the door as she let the golden glyphs revolve around her and change her clothing back to one of a student. Her manicured hands cupped her elbows as she turned and leant against the door, analyzing her pawns with a critical eye.

"Now that that is settled, I would like to return to this lack of observation," Cinder watched as Emerald looked down at her feet, while the other two didn't react, "Despite my clear instructions to contain all the students, as I said before, you failed to do so. And, as I said, I do not ask for predictions. I ask for results. Although this night was a success, it was a clumsy one, and—"

Cinder abruptly stopped as Neo tossed her scroll towards her with an irritated look on her face. The Fire Queen caught the scroll effortlessly, but a warning look was shot in the ice cream girl's direction before she glanced at the contents.

_{It should be mentioned that while Ruby got through us, we were preoccupied with keeping Ironwood away. We prioritized him over Ruby, and sent Mercury to try and catch up with her}_

It was a lie, a well crafted one, but Cinder did not know this.

Cinder glared at the message before turning to Emerald and Mercury, "Is this true?"

If they did not respond correctly, then Cinder would know that Neo was lying. Cinder's glare shook Emerald into a near state of panic, and she was about to protest anything that Neo had written before Mercury subtly grabbed her hand from behind his back and squeezed it tightly, propelling her to silence yet again.

"Yeah, it's true," Mercury agreed. Thankfully, Neo had showed him what she typed while Cinder's back was turned, so he knew what to say, "Ironwood would have arrived at the time Ruby would have if Em and Neo didn't intervene while I went for Ruby."

Cinder narrowed her eyes in suspicion. Yes, the reasoning was logical, and the scenario was likely, but the little tell Emerald had shown was enough to make the Fire Queen doubt that statement to be true. After all, Mercury and Neo had begun to grow close during this time posing as students, and really, Cinder did not believe it to be because the duo thought a close knit team was key to success.

They had another reason. And Cinder already has clues to what that reason might be.

"Very well. I suppose you all did the best to your ability in a compromising situation," Cinder agreed slowly before a stern look was plastered on her face, "But if I have to deal with this type of screw up again, there will be dire consequences for those responsible. Am I clear?"

She received two verbal affirmatives from Mercury and Emerald and a head nod from Neo. Cinder let a slight smile slide onto her lips, and she activated her scroll as she pushed off the door and moved to open it.

"Good. I will be at the warehouse for the time being. Stay in this room until sunrise, clear?"

She didn't wait for a response before sauntering out the door, scrolling through the handful of contacts. Her manicured finger stopped scrolling once her eyes landed on one in particular, an associate codenamed Fury. Cinder began to develop a plan in her head, smirking to herself, and called the number.

The woman on the other end answered not a second later.

_"Uh, Fall? I thought we weren't calling each other once you were in Beacon."_

"A slight change of plans," Cinder purred, walking out the dormitories and toward the airstrip, "You remember when I ordered you all to—" She glanced around to ensure there was no one around, "—to not harm the students of Beacon?"

_"...yes. Why do you bring it up?"_

"That order has been retracted for one student in particular. Understand?" Cinder arched a brow.

_"Oh?"_ The woman on the other end seemed amused, _"Has Mercury gone too deep into cover?"_

"He simply needs a reminder of who has all the cards in this operation."

A melodic laugh came from the other end, _"Well, Slate is going to be excited when I tell him."_

"I thought as much, Erin. Do keep in touch. I should be at the warehouse in half an hour. Meet me there."

_"Yes ma'am."_

As Cinder pocketed her scroll, she smiled. Ruby Rose has surmounted to be a more prominent threat than she expected. That would change soon.

And what better way to take advantage of the field trip her team will likely be taking tomorrow?

* * *

Pyrrha and Jaune were both silent. That's what scared Ruby the most. She had tried to pour out every detail she could, but it was difficult since honestly, her time with Mercury was so swift it might as well have been a blur in her mind. All she could think was she screwed up, he ran away and she lost a friend.

She was ready to hide away in her dorm and sleep throughout the day tomorrow, but she knew she couldn't even do that. They had to sign up for a mission of their choice tomorrow, and she had to be her best then.

"Now, I don't know Mercury very well," Pyrrha began after a moment, and Ruby blinked out of her daze to look at her, "But I do think he cares about you. I saw you two at the dance. You two were...oblivious to those around you. If he didn't at the least think of you as a good friend, he would not be so invested in you as he is."

"But Pyrrha...maybe I was, I don't know, too pushy? I mean, we were- were about to, but when Weiss walked in he seemed to...realize what he was doing, or something," Ruby tried to explain her thoughts, rubbing a hand across her face, "And I'm afraid I lost him as a friend too."

"Rubes, I think you need to talk to him," Jaune put in his opinion, "You're just speculating right now, and that's not helping anything but make you more upset."

"But-"

"Ruby, let me tell you something," Pyrrha placed a hand on her leg to stop her from objecting, "I have learned this from my...attempts… with…" Pyrrha discreetly nodded her head over to Jaune, who caught the action anyway and blushed slightly, "I learned that guys may not see the signs until they are put right in front of them. It is extremely probable that Mercury thinks of you as a friend and potentially something more than a friend, but when you yourself showed your recuperation of his feelings, he didn't know how to react."

"But...wait, that doesn't make sense," Ruby's face scrunched up in confusion, "If he didn't know how to react, why was his instinct run away?"

Pyrrha herself looked at a loss for an answer, and merely sighed and shook her head, "Welcome to the mind of boys, Ruby. They truly are an enigma."

"Hey!" Jaune protested. Ruby and Pyrrha merely glanced at him flatly and he deflated, "Yeah, that's uh...that's probably true though."

"So...how do I go about talking to him?" Ruby asked. Pyrrha opened her mouth to respond, but stopped as the door creaked open and a scroll landed on the bed beside Ruby.

Ruby looked up to see a familiar face smiling slightly at her, her green eyes twinkling and her hair in their signature pigtails. She smiled, though it was an effort to do so, "Oh. Hey Nyx."

Nyx sauntered in and pointed to the scroll beside Ruby. She knew she was risking a lot by venturing out here to talk with Ruby, but Cinder's threats seemed minuscule when she knew Ruby was more than likely confused and hurting.

That cute little Red Riding Hood, she causes problems but no one can find it in them to blame her for them.

_{I'll handle Mercury. You just have to find him before you leave for whatever mission you choose tomorrow}_

"Are you sure Nyx? I think I should give him some time to cool down…" Ruby trailed off. Nyx shook her head and typed another note.

_{Nonsense. I'll get him out to the airstrip and make sure he doesn't do anything stupid again while talking to you}_

"Hold on, how did she even get in here?" Jaune questioned, only to be ignored.

"I...thank you, Nyx," Ruby smiled gratefully at the ice cream lover, "I really appreciate it."

Nyx held the bittersweet smile in as she typed out another message.

_{Hey, what are friends for?}_

* * *

"No no no, I said over there, do you not pay attention?!"

The White Fang member raised his hands in a placating gesture before quickly moving around the crate and pushing it in the other direction, keeping his head down to avoid the ire of one Roman Torchwick. The Master Thief (titled by himself) took his bowler hat off for a moment to comb a hand through his hair in an act of annoyance, growling in aggravation, " _Animals_ , all of them."

"What's your problem today, Torchwick?"

Roman turned sharply to see another generic White Fang member, only this one had glasses perched over top his mask. The criminal's anger quelled slightly as recognition flickered across his face, and he placed his bowler hat back atop his head before replying.

"Oh, just everything. The usual really," Roman drawled, swinging his cane idly, "Slate and Lynae not listening to me, Neo out doing who knows what at Beacon, Adam being a psycho, and Cinder being a bitch. Fun times all around, truly."

"Be careful what you say," Perry warned, "A lot of tattles are in the lower ranks."

Roman made a grunt of dismissal, throwing his hands up in an uncaring fashion before leaning on one of the many crates littered around the grimy cave. He despised being here, and could practically feel the grime building in the seams of his coat. At this point, he just wanted the job done so he could go back to one of his many luxurious apartments.

"Me calling Cinder a bitch is nothing new, and I've said it to her face before," Roman shrugged, though he winced a bit at the memory. The look on her face was worth it though.

"Did I ever tell you that you're sort of a psycho too?" Perry quipped, crossing his arms.

"You don't need to tell me, Perry," Roman replied rather cheerily, his uncovered green eye scanning the area before spotting the unfortunate White Fang member moving the crate yet again, "Grr, what are you doing? It's not supposed to go there, it's supposed to go here. Use those big ears of yours and listen you damn rat!"

The mouse ears on the Fang member twitched in anger as Perry tsked disapprovingly, "Not cool dude."

"My level of caring is not," Roman glared, "If it were my choice, I'd let Lynae handle this. At the very least she has a brain, unlike Slate."

"If Lynae was in charge then she would end up silently murdering half the force and you know it," Perry rebuked, pointing at Roman for emphasis, "She's a sociopath, I'm sure of it."

"You got a degree in psychology then?" It was more of a mocking statement than a legitimate question.

Perry gave the ginger haired criminal a blank look, "Yes, actually. The girl doesn't feel nothing except when it comes to Cinder, Adam and Slate. Gotta be careful of her the most 'round here."

"While it is entertaining to hear of your paranoia over all of your superiors, including myself, I would like to actually know how progress is going."

The Faunus sighed before typing some commands into his scroll, "Things are running smooth enough. Explosives are for the most part wired, and all we need to do is move them to the train and stock the train with dust. Simple, but time consuming."

"Time estimate is what I was looking for, Perry."

"Couple more days."

" _Ughhhh_ ," Roman groaned, digging his heels into his eyes before inhaling sharply and pushing off the crate, "This is mind numbing. At the very least do you know when Neo will be arriving?"

"She said she had to 'take care of something' so she'll probably get here around noon tomorrow," Perry reported, "And Lynae should get here any minute now."

Roman blinked owlishly, hand gripping his cane tightly as he said in an equally tight voice, "Excuse me?"

"You heard the boy clearly, Candlestick," a monotonic voice sounded off from the left. Roman and Perry both looked to see electric blue eyes boring into them both, stature perfectly straight and hands tucked within a blue cloak.

"Oh, you have got to be kidding me."

"Don't sound so opposed," Lynae said stonily, "I am merely here to ensure everything goes as planned… and to take an opportunity if the chance arises."

"I— okay, what the hell are you talking about?" Roman yelled, his annoyance skyrocketing at this point.

"Due to Mercury's information before he became…" Lynae stared into the distance for a moment before deciding against informing Roman of a possible leak, continuing on without finishing her thought, "Ruby Rose and her teammates discovered the general area in which this hideout is located. Considering Team RWBY is very hands on with 'heroic' actions against you, Cinder sent me just in case Ruby and her team somehow happen upon this hideout. I will deal with them as Cinder instructed me to."

Roman sighed, "Please don't tell me Slate is here."

"Just me."

_Thank god_ , Roman thought with silent relief. Lynae he could handle because despite her bluntness and lack of emotion, she was smart enough not to mess with things she shouldn't and listened to him at times. Slate's just another matter he'd rather not touch for as long as possible.

"Alright then Lynae, just...do what you do, and let the White Fang do the heavy lifting I suppose," Roman replied, knowing by now that any questions he had about the reasoning behind Lynae's peculiar arrival would simply be redirected or ignored altogether, "And don't call me Candlestick. Meanwhile, Perry I- What's in your brain, dust? For the last time, I said over there!" Roman pointed to the spot he wanted the crate to be, and the White Fang Member groaned before slamming his face into the top of the crate.

Roman was oblivious to this, and turned to Perry, "Come on, we can talk somewhere where there won't be any idiots eavesdropping."

"What, no quip about all of us being animals and meant to be on leashes again?"

"I'm saving them up for when you least expect it, Perry."

"I always expect them, so hopefully you mean never again."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Did anyone catch the RvB reference? ;)


	14. Promise

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Neo and Emerald are sneaky sneaks :P

"So, are you going to tell me why exactly you were so desperate to find Pyrrha last night?"

Ruby shriveled slightly at Weiss' question. They had just finished up talking to Team JNPR, Sun and Neptune, and luckily, Blake and Yang were already by the Bullhead talking with Doctor Oobleck. Ruby was going to join them, but Weiss quickly stopped her to interrogate her, and while Ruby appreciated the fact that Weiss waited until they were alone, she didn't exactly want to talk about it.

"I just had to get some advice, and Pyrrha seemed like the best option at the time," Ruby shrugged, carefully avoiding Weiss' critical gaze.

The Ice Queen didn't buy it, of course, "Oh really? Did this advice happen to do with Mercury?" Weiss crossed her arms with an arched brow, "I am quite suspicious at the fact that while I came in he was there, once I exited the bathroom he was not."

"Weiss, listen," Ruby stated slowly, "Nothing...bad happened. I think it was just a– a misunderstanding. I'm going to talk to him hopefully before we leave and fix things."

"Ruby, are you sure that's a good idea?" Weiss questioned, concern gleaming in her eyes, "I know you consider Mercury a friend, but seeing you that distressed was...rather alarming. If he was the cause of that state you were in, then I can't say that I like the idea of you talking with him."

"You should have seen _him_ ," Ruby crossed her arms, "I was panicked because he panicked. I've never seen him lose composure like that, and it made me doubt some things...but I thought it out, and I want to make it right."

"If you're sure," Weiss said after a moment, "Just know that you can always talk to me if you want to get something off your chest. You don't have to run off to find someone. I-I know that Yang and I have been quite...unsupportive in your relationship with Mercury...but if you need to vent, I'm willing to give an ear."

"...thank you, Weiss," Ruby impulsively threw her arms around the heiress, smiling slightly as she awkwardly hugged her back, "That means a lot to me."

"We're a team," Weiss replied simply, pulling back with an awkward little smile, "And if you really want to talk to him...he's over there, sitting on the bench. I'll make sure Yang doesn't see you."

Ruby smiled gratefully as Weiss walked towards the Bullhead, and she looked over to where Weiss indicated she saw Mercury. Sure enough, there he was, lounging on one of the wooden benches sitting on the side of the path leading up to the front of the school. She composed herself, taking in a deep breath, and began to walk at a steady pace towards him, gripping the grey straps of her backpack.

As she came closer to him, she tried to decipher his mood as he still hadn't noticed her. He looked to be deep in thought, staring down at his scroll with a mildly annoyed scowl. _Probably talking to Nyx or Emerald. He has a surprisingly venomous friendship with the both of them._

She stopped a few feet away from him, and she cleared her throat quietly before calling out, "Uh...Mercury?"

* * *

…Moments before…

Emerald watched with a wary eye as Mercury moodily flipped through one of his _X-Ray and Vav_ comics as he lounged lazily on his bed, one ankle crossed over the other. Ever since Cinder gave him the warning of that impending order, he had become snippy and even more coiled than before. His easygoing smirk had completely vanished, and any smart-mouthed comments he had stored in that complex brain of his didn't make their way out his mouth when he talked with her, which was extremely unusual.

Neo tapped her arm, showing her scroll to her. _{We have to get him out of this mood. He needs to talk to Ruby and work this out}_

The thief didn't want to alert Mercury that they were talking about him, so she used her semblance to have Neo hallucinate Emerald's response. _:I know, but you didn't see him after you left to find her. He just completely shut down:_

_{You will come to learn just like Roman and Mercury have that I am very hard to be shut out and ignored}_

_:If you say so. But even then, there really isn't a happy ending for this situation he's wedged himself in. He's gonna break eventually:_

The ice cream girl looked at her seriously then, her eyes turning brown and pink as she typed out her response. _{He doesn't have to break if he breaks free first}_

Emerald's eyes widened exponentially at that. Was Neo really suggesting that Mercury abandon Cinder? What in the world has gotten into her?! Emerald asked that exact question through her illusions.

_{Nothing has gotten into me! I'm being serious! Honestly, I don't care about Cinder's plan. I just know that Ruby makes Mercury happy, and Cinder doesn't}_

_:You're insane. Cinder would not just kill Mercury, but make him watch as she killed Ruby or something equally as sinister. Your suggestion would just lead to a slower death:_

Neo palmed her forehead as she huffed out a breath, typing rapidly, _{Alright, talking about the long term is getting us nowhere. We have to get Mercury out of this room and get him to the airstrip so he can talk to Ruby}_

_:...I might have an idea. Just back me up whenever you feel the need:_

Emerald stood, stomping with determination over to Mercury's bed and stopping just before the foot of the bed as she crossed her arms. Mercury didn't even acknowledge her, merely flipping a waxy page with more force than necessary, and she spoke.

"Mercury, I know you're listening," No response, but she expected that, and she barrelled on, "You need to talk to her. Fix things, like you said you were going to before Cinder lectured us."

"Kind of pointless now, considering I'm going to have to take her life at the end of all this," Mercury stated with a bluntness that was painful even to Emerald. She shook her head.

"You and I both know that you can't kill her. Not after all this."

Another harsh turn of a page.

Neo suddenly appeared beside Mercury, waving her scroll in front of his face. Emerald made her way around the other side of the bed to get a peek of her message as Mercury reluctantly read its contents, _{Come on, if you talk to her you'll feel a lot better}_

"You can't possibly know that."

_{I know Ruby almost as well as you do, and if you give her a good explanation, which you have one, then she'll understand}_

"And what exactly is my explanation?"

Neo looked a little hesitant to type out her suggestion. She bit her lip, downcasting her eyes as she held out her scroll shakily. Mercury inhaled sharply at the contents while Emerald's eyes went wide.

_{Marcus}_

"There is no way in hell that I am revealing that part of me to her," Mercury stated viciously, flipping another page with barely restrained fury. Emerald pursed her lips as Neo typed out more messages that Mercury read and ignored. She sighed.

Time to pull out the big guns.

She reluctantly reached out with her semblance to touch Mercury's mind, deceiving him to hallucinate Ruby. She made it so Ruby would be sitting on the bed beside him, close but not close enough to be touching, and for her to be saddened, face crumpled and teary eyed. Emerald remembered Ruby's red dress at the dance, and recreated it in the illusion, paying close attention to every detail just like Mercury no doubt did that night.

Mercury immediately responded to it, voice shaky as he tightened his grip on his comic book, "Emerald, stop it."

She felt horrible for doing this to her partner, but she continued, recreating Ruby's childish voice as she herself moved her lips to what she made Hallucination-Ruby say.

_:Why did you run away, Mercury? What did I do wrong?:_

"Emerald, stop!" Mercury hissed, gluing his eyes to his comic and turning the page so abruptly it ripped. Emerald pushed on, making it so Ruby held a hand in front of his comic and leaned into his view.

_:Mercury, I thought we were friends:_

" _Alright, stop it, stop!_ " Mercury roared, throwing his comic as he sprung off his bed, nearly knocking Neo to the ground as he put as much space as he could between himself and the hallucination, "Emerald, just– just _get out_ of my mind, I'll talk to her!"

Emerald immediately withdrew her presence within his mind, letting the hallucination melt away. She held her breath as Mercury's dark eyes glared heatedly at her, a look full of rage and confliction in his eyes. He growled, "You're such a bitch, you know that?"

"Would you have gotten up if I tried anything else?" Emerald rebuked, feeling extremely guilty but not willing to apologize, "This isn't just about you anymore, Mercury. You're acting for yourself and Ruby now. Keep that in mind from now on."

_She was so conflicted, because she was encouraging Mercury to run away while she herself was paralyzed in a seductress's web, and she wasn't sure if she really wanted to escape or not._

"Whatever," Mercury spat venomously, clenching and unclenching his fists, "Where's Ruby?"

"The airstrip. She should be there waiting to be deployed on her mission," Emerald relayed Neo's message, and before she even finished her sentence, Mercury was storming out the door.

_{I'll follow him, make sure they talk it out before leaving for Mountain Glenn}_ Neo smiled, though it was strained, _{Whatever you did, it worked. Maybe a little too well}_

"He's my partner," Emerald shrugged, her voice scratchy as she felt a slight headache coming in, "I just did what I had to."

_{Well, thanks. He needed a push}_ Neo stopped typing, indecisive, before she continued and showed it to Emerald, _{I know you don't support him leaving...but thank you for helping me with it anyway}_

Emerald said nothing as Neo turned and trotted out the door after Mercury. She couldn't think of anything to say, because Mercury's confliction was infecting her with inner turmoil of her own.

_I don't know what I'm doing anymore._

* * *

"Uh… Mercury?" A familiar voice spoke from his right, and he quickly turned to the small girl. He felt a smile try to sneak onto his lips as he took in Ruby's shy demeanor, watching as she gripped the ends of her combat skirt with her fingertips and pivoted on her heels awkwardly. He sighed.

"Hey gem… going off on your mission already?"

"Oh, uh, yeah," Ruby stuttered, glancing behind her at the Bullhead awaiting her, and gripped the strap of her grey backpack tighter, "We're shadowing a huntsman, and clearing out some Grimm. It should be interesting…"

The tenseness surrounding them couldn't be mistaken, and Mercury felt his insides shrivel at the thought that it was his fault it was like this. He felt the urge to run, the tightness in his chest and the tingles underneath his skin becoming unbearable, but if he ran again, he'd lose her for good, he knew it for sure. He didn't want to see her face crumple again like the night of the dance, not yet, not ever.

"So… about the other night…" Mercury rubbed the back of his neck awkwardly, not exactly sure how to broach the subject. Neo's advice was sound, but he wasn't sure if he was ready to tell her about… about him. He would get a look of pity, and he didn't want pity, not ever.

Ruby took his lapse into silence as opportunity to talk, and Mercury was silently glad as he couldn't find something to say, "Look, Mercury… I-I had some time to think last night, an-and I got some… some advice, so…" Ruby inhaled sharply, squaring her shoulders, "I'm just going to say it. Mercury, I really, really like you, and I think you're a great friend. But I was hoping, maybe, we could possibly… be something more than just friends?"

_…why can't I think of anything to say?_

Mercury watched as Ruby's face flushed a deep crimson as she spoke, and he felt as if no air was in his lungs. He was suffocating, but it wasn't the type where he felt trapped and couldn't breathe, not the type where fear seized the mind and primal instinct took charge. No, he felt like he was suffocating because he had literally nothing to offer her back in the way of words. Here she was, laying herself bare in front of him, all raw emotion and sincerity, and here he was, floundering like a fish gasping for air.

"I… Ruby, I think…" Mercury swallowed thickly, and they both stopped as Doctor Oobleck shouted to Ruby for a brief moment before speeding back into the Bullhead. She had to leave soon, and there was too much to say in such a short time, so he pushed through these annoying, twitchy things called nerves and grasped her fingers loosely in his own, staring into silver pools in the shape of eyes, "Can we talk more after you get back? We can sit down, maybe get coffee or something."

"Uh, y-yeah. I'd… I'd like that," Ruby nodded shakily, her breaths coming out in hitched tremors as her nervousness flowed out of her like a sponge being squeezed of its water, "I just… I _really_ missed you."

Mercury chuckled slightly, though it was weak, "You saw me just last night, gem."

"I know. But I thought I messed up, so I already started to miss you," Ruby admitted, biting her lower lip as she scuffed her boot on the ground, "It wasn't a 'I wish you were here' miss you. It was a 'I messed up and lost you' miss you."

"You don't have to miss me like that gem," Mercury said unthinkingly, "I promise, okay?" _If anything, the only way you'd lose me is if I mess up._

"Okay," Ruby smiled a little, hesitation in her eyes, "W-Well I should probably be going—"

"Woof!"

Ruby's mouth snapped shut as her backpack rustled. Mercury narrowed his eyes, arching a brow at the young girl, "Uh, Ruby? What's in your bag?"

"N-Nothing! What bag? This bag? There's nothing in this bag!" Ruby spluttered, but Mercury wasn't buying it, so he began tugging her towards him by her hand as she squeaked out, "L-Look there's nothing in my—"

She was interrupted yet again by the flap of her bag being pushed aside and a furry and breathing matte of fur poked out of the bag. Ears sprung up straight as a wet black nose emerged, then a grey snout with a white underbelly, until eventually the entire head of a black and white corgi was poking out of the grey backpack Ruby was totting.

"…there's a dog in your bag."

"Woof!"

"Uh…what dog?" Ruby grinned awkwardly, and in seeing Mercury's unimpressed look, she sighed and nodded her head to the panting corgi, "Yeah…this is Zwei, my dog…my dad sent him so we could take care of him while he was out on a mission, and I just really wanted to bring him with me. I've missed him so much!"

Mercury found amusement in that, but he kept staring at the corgi, watching as it cocked its head at him with curiosity before sniffing the air to try and get his scent. Ruby noticed, and leant towards Mercury so Zwei could reach him.

The corgi sniffed his jacket before looking back up at Mercury's face with wide, unblinking eyes. Mercury was slightly skeptical, since dogs seemed to always know the intentions of different humans and his intentions in the future with Cinder certainly were not good. Dogs never liked Marcus either…

Zwei stared at Mercury for a few more moments, and Mercury was certain at this point the little hell dog was going to bite him or something. He expected it, since Zwei strained to get closer to his face before his mouth opened and—

—licked Mercury's nose. _A dog just licked his nose._

"Aw, he likes you!" Ruby squealed, patting Zwei's head with a wide smile. Zwei barked as if to confirm, and Mercury just stared in befuddlement.

"…does he?"

"Of course he does!" Ruby giggled, poking at Mercury's stomach, "Relax, don't look so afraid. I didn't know that you were scared of dogs."

Mercury scowled harshly, feeling that his pride was wounded, "I'm not scared of some mutt, Ruby."

"Sheesh, alright Mister Cranky Pants," Ruby teased, coaxing Zwei to duck back into the bag as she did so and flipping the flap closed, "Well, I gotta go. Don't want to miss my Bullhead… I'll find you when I get back?" Ruby posed it as a question.

"Sounds good," Mercury smiled genuinely, the elated look on her face being enough to satisfy him. Just as she was about to leave he caught her arm before pulling her into a gentle hug, breathing in strawberries and vanilla as he pressed his nose into her hair.

"Be safe."

"I will, I promise," Ruby assured him, looking up at him with a slight smile, "Try not to burn down the school while I'm gone, okay?"

"With Nyx around? Impossible."

Ruby giggled, pushing him slightly as she drew away, "Alright, I actually have to go now."

Mercury smirked as she began to walk backwards, "Better be _Quick_ then, _Silver_."

"Okay, that didn't even make sense," Ruby whined, "You never call me Silver!"

"You have silver eyes, gem. It's enough for a pun."

"GRAH! I'm leaving now!"

Mercury laughed as Ruby turned swiftly and disappeared in a flurry of rose petals, and watched as she reappeared at the Bullhead and stepped inside. A moment later and the Bullhead's hatch closed, and the Bullhead lifted into the air, jetting off and away from the school.

Neo appeared beside him in a flash of black and white, and he read her message, _{Emerald and I told you all you had to do was talk to her~}_

"Yeah yeah, whatever," Mercury grumbled, running a hand through his hair, "But if Emerald pulls that trick on me again I'm kicking the first person I see."

_{As long as it's not me I don't care}_ Neo winked as she showed him this, _{But anyway, what are you going to talk to her about on your first date?}_

"Neo…"

_{You can't deny it. You asked her out to coffee}_

"Whatever," Mercury sighed, crossing his arms, "I… don't really know yet. Need to figure out what I should leave out and what I should say."

_{About?}_

"…Marcus."

Neo blinked, _{Wait, you're actually going with my advice?… GO ME!}_

Mercury chuckled weakly, "Well you did have a good point. Ruby's already curious about him, and if I keep hiding it the suspicion will just keep growing."

She cocked her head at him, her narrowed eyes scrutinizing him for a moment before understanding flashed across her face, _{You're scared she'll look at you differently, aren't you?}_

"Not scared of anything," Mercury bit out before calming, "I don't want pity. Never needed it."

_{Ruby won't give you pity}_ Neo typed quickly, _{She'll give you sympathy. You know Little Red, she wants to protect everybody, and believe it or not, you're someone she really wants to protect. She cares about you too much to just cast you away because of your past with him}_

Mercury smiled a bit at that, "You seem to know Ruby pretty well now."

Neo looked a little sheepish then, shrugging with a small grin, _{Well after playing matchmaker with you two I've gotten invested.}_

"Ruby did suspect that you were behind that little scheme at that dance," Mercury reminisced before turning solemn, "What are we going to do when I'm… given the order?"

_{That's completely up to you}_ Neo typed immediately, _{As I have said before, I have no desire to work with Cinder. Roman is my only tie to her, and I'll do what I have to do to keep him safe. Thing is, what are you going to do to keep Ruby safe?}_

"…Neo… are you saying—"

_{I'll support whichever decision you make. But… I would prefer if Ruby lived in whatever path you choose}_

Mercury blinked owlishly at the small ice cream girl, realizing what she and Emerald had been hinting at before. He shook his head, closing his eyes as he tried to fight back the flurry of thoughts jumbling his mind, "I...I can't think about that right now."

_{Don't worry about it then. Just solve the immediate problem first. Then figure out the rest. Emerald and I can help}_

Mercury smiled slightly, patting Neo's shoulder appreciatively, "Thanks. I appreciate it."

_{Hey, what are reluctant acquaintances turned friends for?}_ Neo winked, _{Now I gotta go catch my ride to Mountain Glenn. You think you can hold up the fort here?}_

"Yeah, I'll manage," Mercury nodded. A random thought popped into his mind, and he huffed a laugh, earning a curious look from Neo, and he voiced his thought, "I was just think about how Torchwick would respond, seeing us buddy-buddy like this."

_{He would probably develop an ulcer rather quickly, followed quickly by a seizure}_ Neo typed with a cheerful smile, adding quickly with a few quick taps, _{Though I love exploding his brain}_

At that, Neo began to trot off towards the airstrip as well, and Mercury shook his head with a slight smile on his face.

Not everything was fixed, but it was a start.

* * *

Neo skipped merrily through the dark and dusty tunnel as the White Fang prepared the train. She was happy to be back in her regular attire and sporting her glamorous hair colors, and swung her parasol lazily as she searched for Roman. Her eyes lit up in excitement as she saw him exiting one of the boxcars, and she ran past the White Fang members to slam into him, hugging him tightly.

"Ack!...Oh, hello there to you too, Neo," Roman chuckled, patting her tri-colored hair, "Nice of you to finally show up."

Neo pulled back, signing quickly, _{Not my fault! It was Mercury's fault!}_

"Oh?"

_{Had to help him with something that he didn't know he needed help with}_ Neo signed with a pout, _{I think for the most part it's been worked out}_

"Ah, yes, because I care deeply for Mercury's problems being fixed," Roman stated sarcastically, and while Neo would normally be amused by Roman's antics, she felt a small bout of annoyance rise in her. Mercury wasn't so bad when his human side was shown, and now that she's seen it thanks to Ruby, she felt joking about Mercury like that wasn't funny anymore.

Not wanting to tip Roman off to her annoyance over the quip, she signed, _{So how is everything going here?}_

"Slow," Roman sighed, "Animals don't know how to do a job both accurately and efficiently."

_{Maybe that's because you keep calling them animals}_

"...Now you're starting to sound like Perry."

_{I mean if two people said the same thing then that has to say something}_

"Mm, still not listening."

_{Rude}_

"Oh, have we not met?" Roman asked rhetorically, acting surprised as he stuck out his hand, "Roman Torchwick, Master Thief and Infamous Criminal Mastermind. How do you do?"

_{I don't need your sass, go bug Perry with that}_

"He seems to have developed the uncanny ability of evading me unless he wishes to talk to me," Roman drawled, leaning against the side of the boxcar, "But joking aside, we've got a slight change around here. Lynae's around."

Neo stared for a moment. Then she blinked, scowling, _{Why?}_

"Cinder sent her, that's all I got," Roman shrugged, "And Lynae being her emotionless self, I couldn't tell if everything else she was saying was a secret plan of Cinder's or simply dry sarcasm."

Neo was starting to become worried, _{What did she say?}_

"She mentioned Red and her little band of do-gooders," Roman hooked his cane onto his arm as he waved his hands uncaringly, not noticing the widening of Neo's eyes, "Also she said something concerning Mercury before she trailed off and didn't finish her thought. Meh, anyway, she said that Cinder sent her just in case Red and her team manage to foil 'my' plans again, as they seem to love to do," Roman scowled, "Criminal bested by Little Red Riding Hood is not something that I would like to be described as, so I don't care if Cinder sends extra security just as a precaution."

Although Neo highly doubted Ruby would come across this hideout in an obscure area hundreds of feet below ground, she couldn't help but feel slightly jittery over Lynae's sudden involvement. For Lynae to be involved meant that Cinder was suspicious, more so than she initially let on, and that spelled out bad news for Mercury. She pushed it to the depths of her mind though, merely smiling and going along with it. There was no need to alert Roman to her worries. He wouldn't understand them anyway, since much has happened since she last saw him.

She shook her head slightly and merely followed Roman as he barked orders to a few of the Faunus, mocking them along the way at times. Neo rolled her eyes, but kept her face devoid of emotion as the White Fang glared heatedly at the criminal duo. Eventually Roman hopped up onto the very last boxcar on the track and beckoned Neo to follow him inside.

"Ah, hello there Lynae. I see you've…" Roman glanced around at the haphazard piles of boxes and scribbles of words on the walls of the boxcar that Neo was simply to lazy to read, "…made yourself at home."

Lynae glanced at him flatly before returning to the makeshift table she made out of a few of the boxes, drawing on a thin slab of wood with a powdery blue crystal, "I merely needed room to plan. No need to be so tense," Lynae's electric blue eyes flickered over to Neo, "Ah, nice for you to join us. The dance went well, I hope?"

Neo grinned cheerily and nodded. _{For the most part. I got to dance with a cute boy… it wasn't Mercury}_

"I'm so glad," Lynae stated dryly, dragging the crystal across the slab of wood, "Anyway, I wanted to ask if the timers were properly set?"

"The White Fang have that covered along with the placement," Roman replied simply, tapping his cane on the ground, "Though I'm more curious as to what you are writing currently."

"A fantastic transition you just made," Lynae said with an unimpressed look, but she straightened up and answered nonetheless, "Adam requested some assistance in relocating troops in the outer regions of Vale. I'm drafting some basic schematics of the area."

Roman furrowed his brows, "Why would they need to relocate?"

"The White Fang rely on the Grimm to mask their trail," Lynae explained, placing the crystal delicately to the side before tucking her arms within her blue cloak, "While this is a useful tactic, it also leaves open the possibility of the Grimm finding them as well, considering they are in their territory. This isn't the first time relocation has had to occur."

Neo tuned out the rest of the conversation out of pure boredom, opting to hop up on one of the crates as Roman and Lynae conversed. She knew it would turn out exactly the same, what with Roman trying to get under her skin like he tried with everyone, Lynae being too blunt and emotionless for that to be possible, and then the inevitable point in the conversation where Roman gives up and simply walks away in annoyance. It was amusing at first, but then it just became tiresome over time.

Surprisingly enough though, the conversation did not end as she initially assumed it would, as she suddenly heard her name being called.

"Neo," Lynae arched a brow as she waved a hand in front of the ice cream girl's face. She quickly drew back at Neo's annoyed look, but continued, "I wanted to speak to you for a moment… without any extra ears."

Roman narrowed his eyes, "Why do I suddenly feel inclined to stay?"

"This conversation doesn't concern you. Besides, you have to direct the White Fang," Lynae motioned to the door of the boxcar, "I'll be sure to keep our talk brief, and the Ice Cream Queen will go and find you as she does."

Neo could tell that Roman was still doubtful over what Lynae had to say to her, but Neo merely smiled and waved goodbye to her partner in crime, signing, _{Don't worry so much Torchy, I'll be fine!}_

"Fine… and don't call me that," Roman warned, making his way out of the boxcar.

The moment Lynae was certain Roman left, she turned to Neo, "Alright, before I say anything no, you're not in trouble with Cinder."

_{I assumed as much. What did you want to talk about?}_

"It's actually about Mercury," Lynae sat on a crate opposite of Neo, and Neo hid her reaction well as Lynae continued, "I know that you and him don't exactly get along, so I thought you would be the best choice for what I am about to ask you."

_Not sure if I like where this is going…_ Neo thought warily, but she merely kicked one leg over the other and cocked her head with that confident smile of hers, tapping her parasol on her shoulder in a way of saying _do continue._

"Cinder has become suspicious about Mercury's allegiances," Lynae stated as she twirled her ponytail between her fingers, "And while she has concocted a plan to ensure his loyalty to her, I still don't trust him. I would like you to keep an eye on him, and report anything that you deem off about his behavior to me. That way I can act if necessary. Do you agree to this?"

Neo must certainly did not want to do that, but then she thought for a moment. If Lynae was asking her of this without Cinder's approval, then that meant that Neo could safely deceive her without the risk of angering the Fire Queen. She could feed Lynae false information of proof that Mercury's loyalty was unwavering towards Cinder, despite it being quite the opposite. Or, at least she thought it was the opposite. Neo wasn't too sure what Mercury was thinking currently, but she was pretty sure that he himself didn't know either.

Either way, Lynae would probably just ask someone else to do this if Neo refused, so she accepted with a false smile.

"Perfect. Tell me any of your findings, should they point to Mercury's betrayal of Cinder."

_{Sure thing}_

Neo found herself smiling as she skipped out of the boxcar, seeking out Roman. Sure, she was playing with fire, but she could handle getting burned a bit. Life wouldn't be interesting if she didn't get burned once in awhile.

* * *

_{You're going to get lung cancer if you keep chomping through those like you are}_

Roman sent an annoyed look Neo's way before pointedly puffing on his cigar before leaning against one of the many crates in the boxcar, "Listen Neo, there comes a point in the day that I have to take a breather. This is me time right now."

Neo rolled her eyes before continuing to play on her scroll, bored out of her mind. The day had consisted of arranging dust crates and placing bombs, all of which she was itching to activate just to be done with this job so she could return to Beacon. At Beacon she could at least find a place for some peace and solitude after a long day, but here she had to settle for a dusty boxcar that was stacked high with dust crates and overrun with cobwebs.

Ah, the life of a criminal.

She glanced up as Roman tapped his cane impatiently on the metal wall, and she saw that he was about to speak before Perry's voice rang from outside.

"Hey Boss! Found something you might want to see!"

Roman glanced at Neo before rolling his eyes and slowly standing, calling back, "Is it good or bad Perry 'cause, let me tell ya, I have had a day."

"Uhh...it's a little girl?"

Neo blinked. Oh no.

Roman's reaction was all she needed to prove her suspicions, "That would be bad."

Neo peered out of the car from under Roman's arm to see Ruby being held by two White Fang goons, and she resisted the urge to deflate. Oh Ruby, what have you gotten yourself into now?

"Neo… go tell Lynae who happened to stumble across us. I'm going to see our darling Little Red," Roman said lowly to her before hopping out of the car, and Neo bit her lip as she clutched her parasol in her hands. What was she going to do now?

Hurriedly, she pulled out her scroll and texted Mercury at lighting speed, fumbling with her lettering before she got it right.

_Ice Cream: {She found the train! Red alert!}_

_Ice Cream: {I can't help her like this, not with the White Fang around. Lynae is here to but I'm going to try to stall her, make sure she doesn't hurt her!}_

She huffed in agitation as her texts wouldn't go through, the signal being too low to connect fully with the CCT. Neo palmed her forehead, glancing out of the boxcar again to see Roman laughing as Ruby tumbled to the ground, arms shielding her face.

_Sorry Ruby…_

Neo ran off to keep Lynae occupied, praying that Ruby's team would find her in time.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Woo, this was an early update! I'm going to actually get a good night's sleep now! :D


	15. Pretty Little Psycho

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So this chapter was super fun to write! I was so giddy the entire time!

_"We're stopping that train!"_

Ruby's resolve didn't waver as they hopped from car to car, finding bombs in each one. If anything, it bolstered it and forced her to move faster, something she was already very good at doing. She sped forward in a blur of rose petals, back arching as her scythe's blade caught momentarily on one of the open hatches, and then twirling with the grace of a dancer as her blade nearly shattered the auras of the White Fang members attacking. She landed with her knees bent, and glanced back to see the faunus she hit had fallen off of the train, and while she felt bad for hurting them — they were people after all, no matter where their allegiances lie — she kept her mind set on the task at hand.

"Doctor Oobleck, more mechs!" Ruby yelled, pointing back from where they came. Zwei growled at the mechanical monsters while Oobleck frowned, taking a healthy swig of his coffee before turning to Ruby.

"Ruby, you go on ahead!" He shouted over the roar of the wind. His crazed green hair was flying around wildly as the string of his hat fought desperately to stay hooked underneath his chin, "I will hold off the mechs!"

"But Doctor Oobleck—"

"Don't worry about me, Ruby," Oobleck grinned, pushing his spectacles up his nose as his thermos transformed back into its weapon form, "It's time I teach them a lesson."

At that, he turned and sprinted off towards the mechs, leaving Ruby to stare after him with Zwei whimpering slightly at his departure. Ruby sighed, smiling a little at the small corgi before nodding her head toward Oobleck, "Go."

Zwei perked up at that, and he barked in thanks before trotting after her professor with a wagging tail. Ruby shook her head before turning and advancing forward with caution as she held Crescent Rose in its rifle form in front of her. A few White Fang members poked their heads out from the hatches of the box cars, but a few shots from Crescent Rose either propelled them into hiding again or had them foolishly jump onto the roof with her, and she easily knocked them out with the blunt end of her scythe.

Ruby jumped to the next car, and drew back in surprise as the hatch directly in front of her burst open and a blur of white, brown and pink sprung from it. The cloaked girl squeaked as she was knocked back by the collision, but she managed to spike her scythe into the roof to avoid falling off the train.

She readied herself for a fight, and she tore her scythe from the roof and swung it behind her, cocking the barrel and narrowing her eyes as she examined her opponent. The woman was knelt on the ground as she raised a lace parasol and opened it, obscuring her face and body. As the woman stood to a height that was even shorter than her, Ruby's eyes widened as she recognized her from the highway. _What was it Torchwick called her? Nea? Or… Neo, it was Neo!_

"Hey!" Ruby yipped, seeing the tri-colored woman peek over the rim of her parasol to reveal wide white eyes. A faint memory prodded at her in the back of her mind, telling her that she had seen that color eye before, but she couldn't remember where.

Something seemed to change in Neo's expression then, but Ruby couldn't see the other half of her face. Her eyes lost the startled look they had though, and once Neo blinked, her eyes were suddenly brown and pink.

Ruby cocked her head slightly, momentarily distracted by that. She said aloud impulsively, "That's cool. How'd you change your eyes like that?"

Neo looked surprised again, before her eyes crinkled around the edges, cluing Ruby into the fact that she was smiling, and Ruby saw through the lace parasol that Neo shrugged her shoulders.

Ruby heard a clang of metal on metal behind her, and Neo suddenly turned serious. In a blur of neapolitan colors, Neo darted forward and hit Ruby with her parasol, not enough to knock her aura down substantially but enough to stun momentarily. Ruby stumbled back as she cradled her jaw for a moment, and when her silver eyes turned back forward a fraction of a second later, Neo was gone.

"How did she do that?" Ruby murmured. She had no time to ponder on that however, as she looked past the front of the train to see a dead end closing in fast, and her team ran up to stand around her.

"What do we do?" Yang asked breathlessly, and Ruby glanced over to see her panting slightly and her eyes slightly glazed over. Ruby frowned, but knew that she couldn't ask what the problem was now. Instead, she glanced at her partner, who was already looking at her, and in an odd unison, Ruby and Weiss nodded their heads.

"Weiss, commence the 'I am Groot' strategy!"

"You need to stop watching that movie every other day," Weiss sighed before twirling and plunging Myrtenaster into the ground, cocooning Ruby and the others completely in ice.

"Everyone brace yourselves!" Ruby yelled, and the girls all joined arms in a tight huddle and crouched down, readying themselves to be slammed into a metal wall on the roof a train with no brakes.

* * *

_...Moments Before..._

Turns out Neo didn't have to put any effort into distracting Lynae, since moments later Roman was storming onto the train with his regular criminal swagger.

Neo and Lynae watched as he stormed to the intercom, slamming his fist against the button before ordering with his usual charm, "Everyone to your stations, we are leaving!"

Just as abruptly as he arrived, Roman turned and went to saunter towards the front of the train, only Lynae shot an arm out in front of him and arched a brow.

"Red and her friends are here with a huntsman, we have to leave," He said hurriedly, "If they manage to board the train, do what you have to."

Neo watched Lynae blink as Roman sped away then, disappearing behind the automatic door. A slight smile came across the cloaked woman's face, and she eased her eyes over to Neo, saying almost absently, "Well, aren't we lucky?"

The tri-colored girl clenched her parasol tightly, but merely cocked her head in response.

"If any of Team RWBY comes our way, leave Little Red to me," Lynae commented with a ominous grin, sauntering over to one of the crates in the far corner and hopping up on it, "I don't care about the others."

Neo quirked a brow before realizing Lynae was basically saying she wasn't going to fight unless Ruby showed up, so Neo was pretty much on her own. With a pout and an eye roll, Neo cast an illusion around her, making it so it looked like she wasn't there.

Not a minute passed when she heard heavy footfalls from above. Neo expected as such however, since in spending the majority of her time at Beacon either with Ruby's team or pestering Mercury about Ruby, she learned quickly that Ruby and her band of musketeers certainly were persistent and wouldn't quit until they reached whatever goal they set for themselves.

The hatch on the far end of the car squealed as it was opened, and three out of four girls dropped down. Oddly enough, Neo felt secretly relieved that Ruby wasn't among them. While Neo was interested as to how Ruby fought exactly, she knew for a fact Lynae would be able to defeat her, and she didn't want to know how Mercury would react to that.

...damn, she was starting to go soft on the confused little spoon-man. Eh, what's done is done.

"Well, I guess this is what we trained for," Yang stated as she stood, in the center of the trio. Her lilac eyes burned with determination, and Neo giggled silently as Yang glanced back at her two partners before beginning to strut forward.

Playfully, Neo spun her wrist before leaning forward exaggeratedly and touching the illusion she created around her with her pointer finger, watching as it shattered into a million pieces and halted the progression of the three girls. Neo cocked out her hip and held her parasol with both hands, a sweet smile on her face as she scanned all three of them. Weiss and Blake wore merely calculating looks, but Yang, her face turned to stone as the fire in her eyes turned to churning pools of lava. Oooh, I do like the feisty ones. I guess that's why we get along so well when at Beacon.

Yang mumbled something to the other two, her eyes never leaving Neo's. Neo readied herself as Blake and Weiss began to sprint forward, but sudden high pitched whistling alerted her to the shot from Ember Celica rocketing towards her. The ice cream girl flipped backward gracefully, avoiding the shot easily.

Neo was surprised when she heard Weiss and Blake run past, and slowly stood to meet the eyes of Yang Xiao Long, who was strutting towards her with a determined look on her face. For some unknown reason it seems, Yang had a grudge against her. Funny, since in reality, Yang has only seen her as Neopolitan once, and she wasn't around for more than a couple seconds. Let's not even touch on the fact that Yang seemed to hold a small bond of friendship with her alias, Nyx Peridot.

Interesting.

But Neo didn't have time to ponder about that. Lynae was watching from the shadows, and Neo could feel her electric blue eyes beaming into her back. She'd have to fight Yang, and she couldn't risk holding back for the blonde.

…well, she wouldn't have held back anyway, but it's the thought that counts, right?

Besides, Neo was fascinated by Yang's personality and demeanor, and was interested to see how Yang would fair against her. She secretly hoped for a good fight that would get her blood pumping, since the kiddy spars in class just weren't the same.

Yang drew her fist back in an overly obvious attempt to hit her, and Neo grinned maniacally as she activated her semblance and effortlessly deflected Yang's punch with her parasol, the girl stumbling backward and nearly falling to the ground in result. Neo pouted slightly at that. _Oh, come on now Yang, give me some more sport._

As Yang narrowed her eyes and growled, Neo smirked and placed her parasol upon her shoulder, one hip cocked out as she blinked twice, her eye color switching on both blinks. A thrill of excitement ran up her spine as Yang rushed forward, throwing punches that Neo avoided by pivoting slightly with a perfect smile, keeping her eyes focused on the lovely lilac color that Yang's eyes are, and on another note, they will remain that lovely lilac. No red eyes, explodey hair for you today missy.

Yang leapt up and aimed a clumsy kick that Neo took advantage of immediately, swinging her closed parasol around to deflect her leg and block the other quick punches from Yang. The busty blonde went for a kick yet again, but Neo stuck her leg out to hook around the bend of Yang's knee, twisting just enough for Yang to topple to the ground while Neo twirled gracefully on her feet.

Neo gave herself an extra second to relish Yang's furious glance up at her before jumping gracefully in the air and flipping, her knee slamming into the area that Yang once occupied. Yang had vaulted out of the way and back on her feet, and Neo rose to her feet and turned just in time to catch the lilac eyed girl's fist in between her wrist and parasol, grasping the metallic gauntlet with her hand and pulling Yang's arm over her shoulder. She hurled her parasol over her head as she kicked her left leg up high, hitting Yang in the face and shoulder before pivoting slightly on her heel and extending her leg, kicking the taller girl in the stomach, causing her to fall flat to the ground.

As Neo cartwheeled to Yang's other side, she kept her smirk plastered on but reflected on how… dull the fight was. Sure, Yang was a powerhouse, but she was just so predictable. It was a shame, since if Yang was at the very least a few levels above where she is currently, she would pose at least a little more challenge for Neo. The bitter thought that she had been cheated out of what Neo believed would be a truly invigorating fight annoyed Neo slightly, and the ice cream girl found herself beginning to grow impatient, a familiar twinge deep in her chest beginning to rise. A part of Neo immediately went on edge, knowing just what that twinge meant.

_This...might not end well for my favorite Bombshell Blonde._

Yang fired an explosive round that exploded on Neo's parasol, not even hitting her, and Neo deflected a few more of Yang's attempted shots with precise hits, slowly backing the angered blonde up until Neo opened her parasol as she shoved the pink-laced weapon right in Yang's face, the proximity of the weapon to Yang's body nearly causing her to stagger backward and trip over the crate right behind her. Neo was surprised to see Yang recover, if only slightly, and backflipped away from a shot fired under her parasol at her feet, continuing with her flips until she plopped down onto another metal crate with her parasol propped on her shoulder, ending her little show of gracefulness by kicking up a leg and crossing it over the other.

_Oooh, this is getting fun!_

She twirled the staff of her parasol in her fingers, cocking her head slightly in a taunt as Yang stepped forward with a tenseness in her form, pure rage brimming in that pretty lilac. Oh how it will be amusing, exhilarating, to see that determination, that brightness, begin to fade as her lovely sharp blade plunged into her heart—

_Not good, not good!_

The bad thoughts Neo normally experienced in a fight were returning in full force, and Neo didn't like it one bit. While she was a little disappointed in Yang's ability, she liked the blonde. She provided entertainment at Beacon with her feisty and bubbly attitude, and those personality traits were things Neo could relate easily with.

But she couldn't control herself at times. And she was only willing to fight the thoughts for a select few in the world, and bad news for the blonde, but Yang was not one of them.

So Neo kept her smile plastered on as she swung her parasol around her body to deflect Yang's punch again, laying down on her back before beginning to spin and plant one hand on the edge of the crate as she twirled on the crate and lifted herself into a one handed handstand, all the while arching her legs toward Yang so she would act defensive while Neo set up her next offensive attack. Once she was extended completely, Neo pushed off the crate with her hand, cartwheeling towards Yang with no hands as she kept her parasol on her shoulder and used one leg to kick at Yang while the other swung to keep up her inertia.

Neo ended her attack perfectly with one leg bent and her parasol in her right hand as Yang skidded back. The ice cream girl resisted rolling her eyes as Yang cocked her gauntlets in an overly dramatic sense before thrusting her fist forward and letting a twinkling dust round fly toward her adversary. Neo merely twirled so her back was to the round and placed her open parasol on her shoulder, feeling the residual heat of the shot hit the back of her legs as the round exploded on her parasol uselessly yet again. She heard Yang running forward and directed Yang's punch away from her yet again, spinning on her heels as she faced the blonde yet again.

_Alright then Blondie, let's see how you fare with this._

She met Yang halfway by hitting Yang's fists with her parasol, twirling the staff between her fingers before she deflected yet another shot and opened the parasol yet again, and she thought idly that this fight was getting a little too bland and repetitive for her tastes. Neo tried to employ some new tactics to entice something different from Yang beyond just trying to straight up pummel her, but the blonde wasn't taking the bait and merely continued with her useless tactic.

_Time to end this, my blonde brawler friend._

Neo went to kick Yang, but to her surprise Yang held back on advancing as Neo counted on Yang doing. Instead, Yang gripped her leg and threw her back, and Neo gave herself no time for shock to kick in as she instead used the sudden flight to flip in the air perfectly, landing gently on bent knees before she glanced up at Yang with an odd glint in her eye. She grinned widely, perfect teeth shone for Yang to steam at as Neo ran forward in a bold tactic that she knew would work out in her favor.

She ducked under Yang's punch, using her parasol to halt Yang's arm from moving forward, and grabbed the limb yet again before heaving herself up so she was twirling fast while overtop of the blonde, twisting and disorienting the girl before transferring her grip from one arm to the other. Neo planted one heeled foot on the skin beneath Yang's armpit before flipping off of the blonde, only letting go of Yang's arm once she saw Yang's feet leave the floor. Neo grazed the floor with her fingertips before landing perfectly on the ground, sighing quietly to herself and snapping her parasol closed as she heard a large thump behind her. _Pfft, how easy was that?_

Neo turned with a smug satisfaction as she saw the blonde sprawled on the ground, unconscious. Her gloved hands fixed her already perfect hair, but her smile froze on her face as a slow clap came from the side.

_Ugh, she forgot about Lynae._

"Nice work, Neo," Lynae said with a sincere look, "Don't know what she did to you, but you didn't let up even once."

Neo rolled her eyes at the blue eyed woman before typing in her scroll and throwing it at Lynae. _{Did you expect me to go easy on her or something?}_

"Fair point," Lynae lost her smile quickly as she tossed the scroll back to her, "Well, deal with her so we can get moving. Little Red wasn't with them, but that doesn't mean she's not still snooping around."

_Deal with her...well, this is not good._

Neo could feel the excitement brewing in her gut at the possibility that her deranged thoughts may become reality, while her sane side panicked. Not that she would have to kill Yang, or at the very least gravely harm her with Lynae in her presence, because honestly, she didn't care either way. If she had to take Yang's life, sure she would be disappointed, but she didn't really know Yang. Her problem stemmed from Yang's sister, whom has a strong connection with Mercury.

Before, Neo wished nothing but the worst for Mercury, along with Emerald and Cinder. She had cared little for their safety, and had focused on following orders while ensuring Roman would live through the events. But now, with the amount of time she has spent with Mercury, and the bits and pieces she's learned over time because of this oddly sweet but extremely dangerous relationship with Ruby, she had come to care about him as well. Not nearly to the extent as she cared for Roman of course, but she cared.

If Yang was killed, Ruby would break. And Neo wasn't sure if that would break Mercury or not too.

She couldn't do a thing about it however. Her muscles moved automatically, the blade slipping free of her parasol, and she found herself staring down at the blonde for a moment, her face oddly peaceful despite the peril she was in. Neo hated the fact that euphoria filled her veins as she twirled the blade to be pointed downward, directly positioned above Yang's heart.

The large grin that spread across her lips was a disturbed one, and she had no doubts that she looked psychotic, her eyes gleaming with a maniacal glee at the thought of the blade plunging downward and breaking through porcelain skin, the glimmers of aura shimmering across Yang's body before flickering out of existence. She wondered idly what color Yang's aura was, and decided upon it being a beautiful gold, brighter than even her own hair. She was curious to see it, and even more curious to see crimson droplets spill from a gaping wound.

Her sane side called out desperately to stop the psychotic side from executing the girl.

_No, stop it Neo. No harming the students remember? Cinder said don't harm the students, it's an order, you don't know what's going to happen if you don't listen—_

Neo would never find out which side of her would have won, since she heard an odd warping sound before a masked woman in black and red sped forward, completely ignoring Lynae in favor of slicing at her with a blood red blade. Neo jumped back, disoriented from the sudden rip from her battling thoughts, and her eyes switched colors before she took a look at the woman attacking her.

_Oh...oh shi—_

She blinked, eyes turning the color of glossy pearls as Lynae darted out of the car with wide eyes and a hurried step. _Oh that little bitch._

The woman presented her sword, crimson eyes peering at her through the slits of the Grimm mask.

_Well, this is a good enough reason to bolt!_

And Neo did just that.

* * *

"Why did you have to pick this game?"

Emerald arched a brow at Mercury before fanning herself with her hand of cards, "What's wrong with it?"

"Emerald… we're both nineteen and we're playing Go Fish."

"There's nothing wrong with the classics!" Emerald objected, flicking one of her cards with her nail, "Any twos?"

Mercury rolled his eyes before handing over a two, and Emerald grinned slightly before placing that two face up along with the three other twos she had in her hand. That left her with three cards left, and Mercury sighed before asking for a random card.

"Got any… sevens?"

Emerald's mouth twitched, "Go Fish."

His response was a groan, reluctantly taking yet another card from the deck, "Okay, I'm convinced you're cheating now."

"I'm not. You just suck at card games."

"This has nothing to do with skill. It's all just guessing, which is complete bull," Mercury grumbled.

"…Queens?"

"I hate you."

"Aaaand I win," Emerald slapped down the four queens, admiring the six different sets she had compiled, "I'm surprised you didn't get even one set. I heard you gave Yang quite the curb-stomping in Conquering Remnant."

"Well, that game has actual strategy involved," Mercury jabbed petulantly, throwing his cards in a fit of childish anger.

"Believe it or not Merc, this game does have some strategy," Emerald gathered up the cards Mercury had thrown and shoved them into the deck before beginning to shuffle the cards, "You have to pay attention to what your opponent asks for, and choose whether or not you want to reveal you have, I don't know, a Jack or something, by asking your opponent if they have any. It's simple, but the game can go either way."

"Yeah yeah, whatever," Mercury crossed his arms before leaning back on his pillow, yawning slightly.

Emerald rolled her eyes at him, spinning the cards expertly between her fingers as she asked, "Want to try Rummy again?"

"I don't care."

"Don't be so cranky, your weakness just happens to be card games. Everyone has a weakness," Emerald shrugged, crimson eyes flicking up to his for a moment before she asked what she no doubt wanted to for the past few hours, "So… how did the talk go?"

Mercury's mouth twisted into an odd mix of a smile and a frown, almost as if he was undecided over the subject, "I'm taking her out to coffee when she gets back. We're… going to talk."

"About…?"

He ran a hand through his semi-messy hair, the stubborn silver strands falling into his face moments later, "Undecided. I just know I can't ignore it anymore."

"Okay… just be careful," Emerald began dealing a hand of seven to them both, "You're running out of path to walk forward on."

"Didn't know you were so poetic."

"Anything to get the point across," Emerald shrugged, grinning slightly as she took a glance at her hand. She flipped the card on top of the deck so it was facing upward and placed it beside the deck between them, but just before she took her turn, Mercury's scroll buzzed on the mattress by his leg.

Mercury felt a grin slip across his face as he saw the caller, and he picked up his scroll. His finger hovered over the accept button before the ring abruptly cut off.

"What was that about?" Emerald narrowed her eyes, "Did she accidentally call you or something?"

He pursed his lips as he stared at the small picture he had of Ruby on his scroll. In the picture she was smiling almost bashfully, and clinging onto his arm for dear life as she wobbled in her heels. Neo had taken the photo in secret during the dance.

Looking at the picture, he had a feeling this call was on purpose.

"It says signal lost. It wouldn't say that if she just hung up."

Emerald frowned, "Well maybe the area she's in is out of range of the CCT."

Mercury closed his scroll with a doubtful look, "I guess so…"

* * *

Mercury paced along the airstrip as Emerald lounged on a nearby bench, soaking in the bright sun rays. After a few grueling rounds of card games (all of which Mercury lost), the duo had decided to try their luck at finding entertainment outside of the dorms. Sadly, most of the students were off campus for their missions, leaving the school a ghost town.

"We could always go into the city?" Emerald posed as she threw an arm over her eyes, groaning in annoyance, "Never thought a day off would be so boring."

Mercury chuckled slightly before checking his scroll yet again, seeing nothing show up. A small growl rumbled in his throat before he shoved the thing into his pocket, hearing Emerald shift in her position.

"Mercury, stop worrying," Emerald ordered, not even bothering to move her arm, "Your 'gem' is fine."

"I know," Mercury lied. Something was wrong, he knew it. It was instinct, the itch underneath his skin was too much to ignore, and he felt restless. He didn't know how he knew, or why he was bothered so much by a simple lost signal, but he knew.

"Oh, hello there Mercury, Emerald," Pyrrha's voice sounded off from the side, and the partners in crime turned to her. Ren and Nora were lagging behind them as Pyrrha was by Jaune's side, who looked almost just as worried as Mercury was for some reason, "What are you two doing out here?"

"Trying to find something to do," Emerald shrugged, sitting up as Mercury stayed uncharacteristically silent. Pyrrha took notice of this, and examined his expression as he stared at the ground before voicing her concern.

"Mercury, you look troubled. Is something wrong?"

The silver haired teen debated with himself for a moment before he blurted out, "Has Ruby tried to contact any of you?"

"She called you too?" Jaune immediately looked up, taking a few steps toward Mercury, "I got a call from her but the signal was lost almost immediately. It's got me worried."

"Yeah… me too," Mercury mumbled, crossing his arms as he leant back on one foot, "I just have a feeling—"

"That something's wrong, yeah," Jaune nodded, obviously in agreement. At this point, Ren and Nora had caught up and heard the tail end of their conversation.

"Team RWBY has always performed exceptionally in the field," Ren stated, almost as if he was reciting it from a factual book, "I am positive that they can handle whatever their mission has tasked them with."

"Come on Merc, you're overreacting," Emerald joined in with an annoyed eye roll, fed up with his constant worry, "Ruby's fine."

With impeccable timing, a loud alarm began to blare from Beacon as well as the emergency towers around Vale. That alarm was rarely used, and used for only one thing.

Grimm attack.

That can't be… Mercury shared a look with Emerald. They both knew immediately what it was, but were confused by it. Wasn't that supposed to occur in another two weeks? It's far too early.

That's when Mercury got a text. _Neo's_ texts.

_Ice Cream: {She found the train! Red alert!}_

_Ice Cream: {I can't help her like this, not with the White Fang around. Lynae is here to but I'm going to try to stall her, make sure she doesn't hurt her!}_

_Out of all the places Ruby's mission could take her, it was to Mountain Glenn?!_

And Lynae. He had forgotten about her, forgotten about her passive attitude but ominous threats. His mind flashed back to what she said in her monotonous voice.

_"You have never seen the extent of what Tyrian and I can do."_

He had dismissed her threats, thinking in the back of his mind that he knew he was a better fighter than her, than Slate, and thought the threat rang hollow.

_"Just remember this conversation later. You'll know when."_

He had to get down there.

"Hey Vomit Boy, is that Bullhead yours?"

Jaune stared at him flatly, "It is if you stop calling me that."

"I'll stop calling you that once you convince Ruby to as well," Mercury smirked, "Now let's get down there."

The blonde boy nodded curtly before motioning for his team to follow, and Mercury was about to join them before Emerald grabbed his arm to halt him. She hissed lowly, "What are you doing? Cinder might not want us to intervene!"

"Yeah...but it would be suspicious if we just watched as the Grimm terror the city, wouldn't it?" Mercury arched a brow, smirking triumphantly, "Found a loophole. Now let's go."

At that he set off towards the Bullhead, and a moment later, he heard Emerald's reluctant footsteps following after him.

* * *

"Everyone brace yourselves!"

Never had Ruby thought she would be able describe the feeling of being propelled into a solid steel wall while encased in ice on the roof of a train speeding towards said wall, but now, as she blinked dazedly amongst the rubble, she could.

"Guhh…" Ruby groaned, kicking a piece of rubble off of her. Slowly, her hands found solid ground, and she pushed herself up into a sitting position.

Her blurry vision cleared to see her friends and sister lounged against large pieces of rubble as well, coughing raggedly to rid the dust from their lungs. Ruby pushed herself to her feet, swaying and nearly falling to the ground yet again. She felt her knee give slightly, and she planted a hand on the ground to steady herself, glancing in front of her to see that they were in the center of Vale. A crowd was quickly forming around them, and Ruby shook her head slightly to reorient herself.

"Guys… we need to—"

Behind her, the rubble was forced out of the way by a strong force, slabs of concrete flying in the air as a King Taijitu emerged from the ground and leaned past Ruby and her team to hiss threateningly at the citizens around them. Beowolves and Creeps crawled out of the rubble as well, roaring and hissing, while Boarbatusks and Ursai clambered up slower than them, examining their new stomping ground before charging forward ferally. Ruby heard the screeches of Nevermore's from up above, and she gaped in horror as the mob of people quickly dispersed as the Grimm snapped at their heels.

But then, she clenched her fists and narrowed her eyes in determination.

"Team RWBY, move out!" Ruby yelled, brandishing her scythe and surging forward, slicing at the Grimm on the center platform. She heard Yang reload her gauntlets as Weiss hopped up onto the platform with the help of her glyphs and Blake followed soon after.

Ruby readied her scythe, silver eyes scanning the area. The Grimm have turned their attention from the citizens of Vale to Team RWBY, and Ruby felt some doubt in the raw numbers of the Grimm. The negative emotions from the people of Vale were no doubt drawing more Grimm in from the tunnels as she surveyed the battlefield, and she saw in the distance a trio of Nevermore's closing in.

She grit her teeth. _Just standing around worrying won't get anything done!_

With a cry of exertion, Ruby jumped into the middle of a pack of Beowolves before spiking her scythe into the ground and beginning to twirl, hitting the Grimm with her feet as she used her semblance to run in a tight circle. Once the last Beowolf was knocked back Ruby spun in the air, yanking her scythe from the ground and landing safely on the ground.

She saw Weiss using her glyphs to throw ice at the Grimm as Blake fired her pistol on one knee, and a moment later, Ruby watched as a stream of golden fire shot into the sky, twinkling orange shots from Ember Celica raining down on Ursai and Creeps. Ruby smiled slightly at her team's determination, but quickly whirled around at the sound of a hissing King Taijitu behind her.

The Grimm's sharp fangs were bared for her to see, bulbous red eyes glinting in the harsh sun as the triangular head loomed over her. Ruby backed up with a nervous chuckle as she gripped the handle of her scythe, hearing an odd cheer of… _joy_ in the distance.

" _HuaaaaaSHABAAANNNG!_ "

Nora flew in from the sky and slammed her hammer into the head of the Taijitu, giggling psychotically as she fired a pink heart round at point blank range into the head. Nora herself was propelled back by the blast, eyes wide with delight as the snake was propelled down into the concrete.

"Woah! Way to make an entrance!" Yang exclaimed, hands set on her hips as she stood on top of the slowly disintegrating corpse of an Ursa.

"Did you expect anything less?" Weiss rolled her eyes with a fond smile, "It is _Nora_ we're talking about."

"Point."

A Bullhead soared in close then, and Ruby watched as Pyrrha, Jaune and Ren all hopped out without hesitation, joining their teammate on the ground before setting off with determination. Ruby was just about to call out to them when a low growl alerted her to the danger right behind her, and she rolled out of the way of a swipe by a large Beowolf. Before Ruby could even think of attacking the beast, a familiar silver haired teen slammed into the skull plate of the monster, killing it instantly with two discharges of his boots.

Ruby blinked in surprise as he landed a couple meters away from her, grinning madly before turning to her with an almost primal glint in his eye. That excited glint in his eye changed to relief, and he called then, "Fancy meeting you here, huh gem?"

Before Ruby even thought out the action, she closed the distance with the aid of her semblance, slamming into Mercury in a bone-crushing hug. A grunt of surprise came from him, but she felt his arms wrap around her a moment later, an action that made her smile madly.

"Good to see you too," He said in a much softer and sincere tone, "I got your call but the signal was lost."

"I know. Mountain Glenn doesn't get good reception I guess," Ruby giggled, hearing unfamiliar gunfire from her right. There she saw Emerald with twin pistols, shooting with an almost bored look at a small pack of Beowolves.

"Yeah, well your call had Mercury climbing the walls in worry. I nearly decked him he was so obsessed," Emerald commented dryly before her crimson eyes eased over to Ruby, a slight smile on the mint haired woman's face, "But it's nice to see you safe, Ruby."

Ruby blushed slightly at the thought of Mercury worrying over her, but before she could reply, Altesian forces began to rain down from the sky, and air support from Ironwood's ships pounded into the Grimm mercilessly. She peered past Emerald to see that her team as well as JNPR and SSSN had joined up to help fight the Grimm back, and more Bullheads were fast approaching. Ruby smiled, glancing at Mercury.

"Looks like the Grimm are outmatched this time. Come on, let's finish this!"

At that, Ruby brandished her scythe and sped off toward the battle, the telltale sound of footsteps telling her Mercury and Emerald were close behind.

Little did she know, a pair of amber colored eyes were staring down at her from the rooftops.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Later tonight I'll probably be putting an announcement on my bio page...check it out if you're interested!


	16. An Odd Bird

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Oh my gosh I'm so sorry! I haven't been able to log on until now! I feel horrible DX

Neo was many things, but a pacifist she was not. So, when she managed to crawl out of the rubble relatively unscathed, she sighed quietly before taking in the mass panic the Grimm have caused… and then she spotted Ruby, Mercury, and Emerald fighting side by side, along with a mass of students littered about the battlefield.

One guess what Neo intended on doing.

She wound her hair into pigtails quickly before using her semblance to change her appearance and hair color. Blinking, her eyes changed to green as she tucked her parasol underneath a small pile of cracked concrete off to the side and slightly concealed by an alleyway, and instead equipped the cestus she appropriated for Nyx Peridot, grinning madly as she thumbed the levers on the inside of the cestus so three long spikes on each hand sprung out. _It's like that girl Militia, only I wear it better!_

With a giddy hop in her step, she sped forward and hopped on the head of an Ursa, burying the spikes of the lovingly named Mana Diavolului into the skin right between the nose and skull plate, and steered the howling Ursa towards a horde of Creeps and Beowolves.

"Ooooh, I KNEW I'd like her!" Nora squealed at the sight of Neo riding on top an Ursa, similar to the way she herself did during initiation, "MAKE ME PROUD, ICE CREAM LOVER!"

Neo winced slightly at the volume of her screech despite the fact that the pancake-loving student was far away from her, but her grin stayed in place as she joyously swung her free fist at any Grimm that attempted to leap towards her, all the while keeping a close eye on the whereabouts of her fellow accomplices. The Ursa wailed as its paws slammed into an unsuspecting Beowolf, and the lumbering Grimm shook desperately to rid itself of the ice cream lover, to no avail.

"What the— _bloody hell, Nyx!_ "

Neo blinked in surprise at her name being called by a surprisingly familiar voice with a lovely accent, and she sensed someone make an unsteady landing on the Ursa slightly behind her. She whirled around while still keeping one of the cestus embedded in the head of the Ursa, rearing back her fist—

Only to see a certain green eyed redhead with a pistol and cutlass, hanging onto the Ursa for dear life as his booted feet slipped on the matted fur.

Giggling silently, Neo grabbed the fabric on Scarlet's shoulder before pulling him with surprising strength up the the head of the Ursa, letting him hold onto her shoulder as he managed to get a firm hold on the skull plate of the Ursa. Scarlet gasped for air as his eyes were wide in panic, and Neo cocked her head with a close-lipped smile, waiting for him to gain his bearings.

"Alright, alright! So I knew you were crazy on the dance floor, but I didn't know it'd extend to the battlefield, love!"

In an almost lazy fashion, Neo typed out a response with her free hand as she effortlessly kept hold of the dangerous and flailing Grimm they were both riding on, and Scarlet struggled to read the message she wrote to him.

{Eh, a battlefield can have any kind of floor. So can a dance. Am I right?}

"Well...I-I guess—"

{So since this can be considered a dance floor as well as a battlefield, care to do a different kind of dancing with me, handsome?} Neo smirked as she showed him this, winking as a light blush dusted his cheeks.

"You certainly are an odd bird. Not that a mind. Alright then Nyx, let's dance our way through these Grimm, yeah?" Scarlet offered with a sideways smile, holding out his hand. Neo glanced at the offered limb before clasping his hand in hers and shaking it vigorously, a savage grin on her face.

{Let's get started}

* * *

"Uh, Mercury?"

"Yeah?"

"Is that Nyx and Scarlet?"

"Yup."

"Riding an Ursa?"

"Seems so."

"...okay."

Ruby turned away from the crazed duo with a disbelieving grin, giggling at Mercury's expression at the sight of his teammate. He seemed to be torn between being simply exasperated with Nyx's antics and thoroughly impressed with how she was able to steer an Ursa Major with such efficiency.

"Mercury?" Ruby waved a hand in front of his face with a goofy smile, seeing him blink hard and shake his head, "I lost you for a second there. Get caught up in Nyx's insanity?"

"You'd think I'd be used to it by now," Mercury commented dryly, grinning lazily as he flicked Ruby's nose with his pointer finger. Ruby grumbled at the action, but Mercury ignored her in favor of discharging a round into an approaching Beowolf, "Seems like they never end."

"They'll end eventually," Ruby said sternly, steely determination embedded deep into her eyes. She could tell that Mercury was thrown off slightly by her confidence, but she merely nudged his arm, "Come on Merc, we've got some lethal team attacks ready to go."

"Oh yeah?" Mercury said with a smirk, arching a brow as he scanned the area quickly for threats, "List 'em, I'm curious."

"Well, QuickSilver, because duh," Ruby motioned between the two of them with a smile, walking slowly along the road with Mercury. The Grimm surprisingly weren't congregating around them, probably because they were more interested in the odd duo atop the Ursa Major. Ruby pointed to them, "We've got Cherry on Top over there."

"Hm?"

"Nyx likes ice cream, cherries are red like Scarlet's hair," Ruby explained quickly, "And then there's—"

_"Woohoo~"_

_"Oh god Yang we're gonna die—"_

Ruby and Mercury took the time to watch as Yang and Neptune sailed through the air while attacking a few Griffon snapping their beaks at them.

_"You said you were up for whatever I could think of!"_ Yang cheered.

_"I didn't think that we would be launched by Weiss like we were human catapults!"_ Neptune hollered back in return with a terrified expression, _"I thought we would go bowling or something!"_

_"This kind of date is the best kind though! Cheer up Nep, let's bowl some Grimm over!"_

_"Really Yang?!"_

Ruby resumed her sentence as if nothing out of the ordinary had occurred.

"And then there's Seadragon," Ruby giggled, "Let's see… ooh! Arkos! And there's Renora! Black Sun! And—"

Mercury shot at the Creep leaping toward Ruby, cutting her off, "And there's a Creep that nearly ripped your face off."

"I knew you'd protect me," Ruby teased as she waved her hand in a dismissive matter, seeing Mercury blink in surprise before he smiled lazily at her. Her silver eyes sought out the dull roar that heightened in loudness, seeing a Bullhead approaching fast just like the others. She cocked her head before seeing the four that jumped out, "Look! It's Team CFVY!"

The adored second years of Beacon landed with ease, the leader strutting forward as the two swift moving members darted forward and unleashed furious attacks on the Grimm. The largest of the team landed in the center of the platform Ruby and her team were stood on before, and once he realized Grimm surrounded him, he drew his large sword from his back and slammed it into the ground by his feet, creating a shockwave that shattered the concrete and caused the Grimm to tumble backward.

Ruby watched as Coco, the team leader, took down a large Beowolf with lazy movements, deflecting its claws with a swing of her briefcase. Eventually, as the Death Stalkers and Nevermore's began to rally, Coco brought out the big gun. Specifically, her gatling gun.

As Coco mowed down the most powerful Grimm Ruby has faced in her short time at Beacon, she heard Mercury's heavy footsteps come up beside her. He was standing close enough that she could sense the phantom touch of his arm, and she blinked her silver eyes up at him to see he was watching how they battled intently.

"That's a second year team, right?" Mercury eventually asked.

"Yeah. Coco Adel is the leader, but I haven't really had a chance to her. I've only talked with Velvet a few times," Ruby shrugged, though her smiled dimmed into a look of perplexity, "Hold on… where did Emerald go?"

At that moment, as a stray Ursa went barreling toward Coco, a flash of green twirled through the air as she struck the beast with her kusarigamas, leaving lines of green that disappeared quickly in her wake.

"There," Mercury pointed out bluntly, "I guess she got sick of my puns."

"I got sick of them fifteen years ago when I was told that the first thing Yang said when I was born was _'Ruby? I think she's birthy to be my little sis_!'"

Mercury gaped, "You're kidding. Wouldn't she be two at around that time?"

Ruby merely sighed, "Sadly. From what I could weasel out of my Uncle Qrow, Yang's mother likes to make puns too, so it's hereditary…" she downcast her eyes, "It'll never end!"

"That's… pretty bad," Mercury agreed, though he let a smirk break through as he added, "But you do know that whenever I call you gem it's basically a pun, right?"

Ruby groaned, pouting as her shoulders slumped, "Please don't ruin that nickname. I like it and think it's cute and if I think about it being a pun anymore I'm going to start resenting it!"

Mercury cocked his head and stared at her for a moment, and his smirk turned into a sly smile, "You like it?"

"Uh… yeah," Ruby blushed slightly, swinging her weapon awkwardly, "We should probably… go help them…"

She bit her lip, watching as Mercury sauntered forward and ruffled her hair. She was about to protest when Mercury dipped down and pecked her cheek lightly, lingering for a moment as her blush intensified.

"I'll follow you, gem," He replied in a soft tone, and she squirmed slightly as his breath tickled her ear. She nodded jerkily as he returned to his full height.

"O-okay, le-let's go!" Ruby stuttered, and she abruptly turned and sped forward with Crescent Rose bared and ready.

She may have admitted her feelings to Mercury, but that certainly didn't mean she didn't turn into a bashful mess whenever he presented her with any tender affection.

* * *

_…Moments Before…_

Emerald let a detached feeling come to her as she mowed down any opposition. She resisted sneering when Altesian Knights rushed past her and began firing at the Grimm she was just attacking. Their programming told them to protect any living thing, she knew, but it was insulting to think these idiotic mechanical soldiers felt the need to shield her of all people.

In a small fit of anger — and a glance every which way to ensure no one was around — Emerald shifted her pistols into sickles and slashed at the robotic soldiers in front of her, watching as sparks flew from severed wires. The four mechanical monstrosities fell with a last quiver of synthetic life before the hunks of metal crumpled to the pavement of the street, the parts jumbling together. She had made sure to make the cuts jagged and sloppy, so there would be no suspicion that the Knights fell to a blade and not a claw.

And now, back to the Grimm.

She twirled her sickles as she ran gracefully through the horde, arching her back as she moved her arms with complex precision, crimson eyes secured forward as she merely used her ears and resistance of blade against flesh to see if she hit her target. She never missed, she vowed to never miss, since any clue of failure would anger the Fire Queen.

_If she is not mad enough already,_ Emerald added with uncertainty, biting her lip as she ran forward. Emerald had spied Cinder on the rooftops, mostly because Emerald knew Cinder would wish to overlook the event, and when Cinder caught her eyes there was no prominent emotion seen. Surprisingly, a small, satisfied smile was playing on Cinder's lips at the time, and it disturbed Emerald slightly. Why was she smiling at a failing aspect of her plan?

She barely acknowledged the car flipping past her by Yang's incredible strength — where did she even come from, she had not been on the street before — nor did she flinch when that blue haired boy plummeted down from the sky and sunk his trident into the rough fur and flesh of a stationary Griffon that squawked in pain at her feet.

"Uh, sorry bout that," the teen grinned, straightening as he stepped off the disintegrating Grimm, "I don't think we've met. I'm Neptune, and this is—"

"Yang, I know. I'm Emerald, Emerald Sustrai," Emerald cut Neptune off with barely restrained irritation, plastering on a friendly grin instead, "Nice to meet you Neptune. But uh, where did you two come from exactly?"

"Oh, we were just launched into the air when someone decided to—"

"I'm cutting you off right there, sweetie," Yang bellowed over his voice, slapping a hand on his back and grinning at Emerald, "You see Em, Nep here owed me after the dance fiasco, so we agreed that I could pick what our first date would be. Sooo—"

"You told Weiss to launch us in the air!" Neptune yelped.

"And that's exactly what Weiss did," Yang placed her hands on her hips with a smug smile before she reached up to pat Neptune's cheek, "Aw, next time I'll let you pick, kay? You want to go to the spa?" Yang teased.

Emerald watched the scene with a friendly smile, but inwardly she was cringing. _Guh, these are the future protectors of Remnant? Cinder's got it in the bag._

"Uh, there are more Grimm around…" Emerald could already tell she wasn't heard.

"I expected something crazy, but I didn't think that you would announce our date during a breach and then shove me onto one of Weiss's glyphs!"

"Unpredictability is a good thing sometimes," Yang chirped, before she sighed at Neptune's unamused look, "What, do you want to end this right now? I'm not apologizing, Neptune. I'm a thrill seeker… it's what I love," Yang's voice lowered to a mumble as she talked.

"I—uh, n-no!" Neptune hurried to say, his suave nature completely shattered in the presence of the boisterous blonde, "I didn't say that… that I didn't enjoy it…" Neptune pat her shoulder awkwardly, "Just ah, warn me next time. That way I won't be so worried over your safety," He puffed his chest out slightly at this as his charming smile returned.

Yang glanced up at him in amusement, "Uh-huh, because you totally weren't screaming at the top of your lungs 'Yang, we're gonna die! Oh my god you're crazy!' The entire time."

Neptune spluttered before scowling, though the scowl itself was half-hearted. Emerald rolled her eyes at his next action, not even bothering to try and hide it since she was all but forgotten to them.

"I was not screaming, and… I don't mind if you're a thrill seeker. Uh, just try to avoid things too life-threatening though," Neptune gulped at Yang's stony look, "And uh, I started to enjoy it once I got over the, uh, the shock, so maybe—"

"Oh shut up, you little nerd," Yang threw her arms around the flustered teen, and Emerald could spy a grin on her face. She began walking away with a huff as Neptune began to wind his arms around Yang to return the hug.

Emerald was almost out of earshot when Neptune realized what Yang called him.

"Hey! I am an INTELLECTUAL!"

"Whatever you say, you're my nerd, Nep!"

_I don't know what's worse, teen romance or Mercury's puns,_ Emerald groaned inwardly, racing forward and slicing the arm off a Beowolf with one of her sickles.

She passed by a few other pairs of fighters. The Invincible Girl, Pyrrha Nikos and her leader, Jaune Arc, as well as the bubbly girl that loved pancakes skipping alongside the calm magenta eyed man while she shot her grenade launcher at moderately distant Nevermore's. She seemed to take an odd glee in it, giggling as the heart shaped pods of dust exploded in a dreamy pink against the tough feathers of the dangerous Grimm. Her team merely rolled their eyes with slight smiles, with the magenta eyed boy smiling fondly at her with a small pat to her head.

What an unlikely team they are. A bumbling fool, an Amazonian goddess, a giggling maniac, and a stoic ninja.

Emerald hopped up onto the roof of one of the smaller buildings, overlooking the battlefield in the center square. Her eyes automatically found her partner in crime, Mercury, and with him she saw the small girl Ruby. She wasn't surprised, but confliction brewed in her chest as well as an unsure frown.

And then we have Team RWBY. A little girl, a stuck-up heiress, a stand-offish faunus, and a rambunctious elder sister.

Emerald shook her head. Her thoughts were straying from the task at hand, and she focused again on the battle in front of her. It looks like a new team has joined the fray, and Emerald was pleasantly surprised to see it was the team Cinder assigned to her, Team CFVY.

After Mercury was unofficially trusted with retrieving intel from RWBY and JNPR, Cinder had directed Emerald to the already famous second year students of Beacon. Emerald wasn't informed as to why Cinder was so interested in them beyond their fame, but if Emerald had to guess, defeating them brutally in the Vytal Festival was probably Cinder's plan, considering the shock from their fans would cause negative emotions to stir quickly.

Seeing an Ursa approach with lumbering strides, Emerald saw her opportunity. She leapt off the rooftop and twirled her sickles, letting them shift into kusarigamas, and she flipped in the air as she sliced at the tough fur of the Ursa. The beast howled in pain, but once the elite team was alerted to the presence of another Grimm, it was quickly silenced by a kick to the skull plate by the rabbit faunus and a mighty slash by the giant's sword.

The Ursa fell before Emerald, and she turned when she heard the leader of CFVY address her.

"Nice entrance. Oh, and _nice_ outfit," The confident woman smiled as she rested her gatling gun on her hip, using her free hand to tip her sunglasses down so Emerald could see her chocolate brown eyes. Emerald grinned.

"Thanks. I'm trying to avoid getting blood on it."

"There is no need to worry over injuries," The giant rumbled in a surprisingly soft tone, "We all support each other and will not let you be harmed."

"Uh, thanks," Emerald smiled slightly, crimson eyes twinkling, "But I wasn't referring to my blood."

"Ooh, I like her," The leader cooed, glancing at her team before a lazy smile graced the girl's face, "Well girlie, I suppose introductions are in order, since no Grimm have attacked...yet," She held out a hand as her gatling gun folded back into a handbag, and Emerald shook her hand firmly, "Coco Adel."

"Emerald Sustrai."

"This is Fox," Coco grinned before giving the blind faunus a smack to the rear. He didn't seem affected at all, but smirked slightly as his head turned slightly toward her, "She's Velvet, and the gentle giant over there is Yatsu."

"Hello! It's nice to meet you," Velvet grinned, her voice soft and sweet just like a velvet cake. Ugh, she needed to stop spending time around Mercury. She was thinking up her own puns now.

"You as well," Emerald nodded, "So, you ready to-"

"More Grimm!" Yatsuhashi interrupted suddenly, brandishing his large curved sword. Velvet quickly leapt onto his back, clinging onto his green shoulder plate, and he charged off into battle as Fox and Coco watched with amused grins.

And then, Emerald heard another familiar voice.

"QuickSilver!"

Emerald gaped at the two figures behind Coco and Fox, prompting them to turn and watch as well. Ruby bent her knees as Mercury leapt onto her scythe, and after Ruby dipped slightly lower to the ground, she fired her scythe and hopped as she launched Mercury toward the horde of Grimm right behind Emerald. Mercury soared over their heads, and Emerald fumed as she realized that, with the sudden slow in time once he was flying over her, Mercury had the nerve to wink.

Good to know he would use his semblance simply to annoy me, Emerald thought with a groan as time returned to normal and Mercury slammed into the side of a Creep. A sudden rush of rose petals floated past Emerald, and not a moment later Ruby was beside Mercury after having beheaded a Beowolf.

They smiled at each other, and Emerald took notice of the sincerity in the lines of Mercury's face as they turned to their onlookers. Ruby waved happily, "Come on, let's push the rest of them back!"

Coco laughed, "Lead on, Ruby Rose."

Ruby blushed at that, but nodded frantically, turning to the approaching horde of Grimm with determination. Emerald watched with curiosity as Ruby hoisted her scythe onto her shoulder before turning to Mercury.

"Ready Merc?"

"Sure thing, gem."

And as they sped off together with Coco and Fox close behind, Emerald wondered if she was Mercury's partner still.

* * *

They were winning.

Ruby felt giddy as she watched Grimm after Grimm fall, and also watched as more of her friends funneled in from alleyways and streets where they returned from their patrol. Some of the Professor's joined in the fight as well, and she swore she spied Zwei trotting around the battleground with Oobleck.

The battle continued, and Ruby found herself in a familiar pattern. She would attack, dodge, jump, and attack again. She made mistakes at times, but someone was always at her back to cover for the mistake, just as Ruby was there to cover for the mistake of a fellow student by her. This constant pressure of the Grimm almost caused her to miss something vital, but she was an observational one, and her lips pursed when she caught the sight of something...or, should she say, someone.

She didn't see much, just the vanishing of a white pea coat around a corner and a small flash of ginger hair, but she knew who it was. She saw the cane in his hand, and she's ran into him far too many times to not know what he looked like.

"Torchwick!" Ruby exclaimed to herself, and she was unsure if anyone else heard it. Mindlessly, she weaved through hunters and Grimm before speeding off after him, her teeth gritted and scythe ready. Only, when she rounded the building that she knew she saw him disappear behind, she saw not the infamous Roman Torchwick, but a woman with stunning blue eyes and a blue cloak. Ruby didn't know why, but she immediately felt something was... off about her.

"Ruby Rose. Hello there."

"...How do you know my name?" Ruby asked nervously, taking a step backward from the blue cloaked woman. The woman merely smiled slightly, but it didn't reach her eyes.

"I know a lot about you. I also know a lot about Weiss Schnee, Blake Belladonna, and Yang Xiao Long," The woman took slow steps toward Ruby, "You see, you have been causing problems for some people that you really should consider staying on the good side of."

"You're… you're working for Torchwick," Ruby swallowed thickly, fingers curling tightly around Crescent Rose.

"Mm, I like to consider it a partnership of sorts," The woman dipped her head down to Ruby's eye level, mere feet away from her, "But I suppose you should know my name," The woman had the nerve to stick one of her hands out while the other arm remained hidden within her cloak, an odd glint in her intense electric blue eyes, "Lynae Erin. Though, I am referred to as the Fury."

Ruby smacked her hand away, stumbling backward with wide silver eyes. Frowning harshly, she unfolded her weapon into its scythe form, cocking it with a harsh scowl as she bent her knees, "I won't let you hurt anyone else."

"Oh Ruby, we're not here to hurt the citizens of Vale, not like those nasty Grimm are," Lynae smiled, straightening up again, "We're here to hurt _you_."

Ruby's stomach dropped to her feet, and whatever confidence she had plummeted with it. Her mind had enough semblance to catch onto the plural in that statement, and she mimicked weakly, "We?"

A low chuckle came from behind her, and she jolted, whirling around and jumping back as she caught sight of a dark skinned man with slicked back purple hair and murky green eyes that shown of sadistic glee. In his hands was a bronzed two pronged fork that was almost the height of the man himself, and Ruby blinked up at him with a stunned disbelief. What… what is going on?

"That's right, Little Rosebud," The man said lowly, twirling the weapon lazily, "Tyrian Slate. Also known as Cerberus."

"It's rather unfortunate that we have to eliminate such a young soul full of potential," Lynae sighed, and Ruby whipped her gaze to the blue eyed woman, "But as I always say, if they won't comply… kill 'em."

Ruby heard Slate move behind her and she just reacted, vanishing in a swirl of rose petals as she jumped high into the air, twisting her body as she kept an eye on the two… what even were they? Assassins?

She shook that thought away, firing Crescent Rose and propelling herself onto the roof of the closest building. A glance towards the center of town showed that Nyx and Scarlet had joined forces with Yang, Neptune, Blake and Sun in taking down a small battalion of Beowolves and Creeps, while Weiss and Emerald joined Team JNPR and Team CFVY in mowing down the remaining Nevermore's and Deathstalkers. They were all occupied in an intense battle, and Ruby sucked her bottom lip between her teeth as she glanced behind her, toward where Slate and Lynae no doubt were puzzling ways to get up on the building, before turning back to the center of town only for her blood to run cold.

A flowing red dress with gold sequins…

The woman's back was to her, but Ruby could see the glass heels and the silky black hair the woman sported. She doubted the others could see her due to the elevated height Ruby was at, which was disconcerting. The woman was merely watching the chaos below, hands clasped behind her back as her short dress billowed in the faint wind.

_This was bad, really bad. The fire lady was back and these new people were after her and she didn't know what to do. She shouldn't have run after Torchwick blindly, not without telling someone._

Her instinct told her to look up, and she gasped before propelling herself backward, narrowly dodging an attack from the purple haired man as he dropped from the sky, but she had no time to ponder how he managed that feat before she had to block a stab from Slate with her scythe.

A barely audible thump sounded behind her and she risked a look back to see Lynae standing from a crouched position, a barely there smile dancing on her lips. Her arms were still hidden underneath her cloak, black hair with blue-dipped ends blowing in the wind, and she spoke, "Now now, Ruby. Don't be a coward, fight."

Ruby grit her teeth before she brandished her scythe with a yell and darted away from Slate in favor of attacking the smug woman. Lynae didn't seem to react at all to Ruby's approach, and Ruby began to swing her weapon around in a fluid motion before an abrupt clang jolted her from performing her flurry of slices.

Lynae had drawn her own weapon, one arm sticking out of the cloak as a large silver glaive pushed back against Crescent Rose, and Lynae smirked, "An impressive weapon you have. Well, this here is called Alecto. A simple glaive really, but there is always a trio of Furies, is there not?"

At that, Lynae thrust out her hidden hand to reveal a gloved hand with a light blue metallic bracelet on her wrist. In a flash, the bracelet shifted so the metal covered the back of her hand, her knuckles, and her palm, a small circular ring in the center of her palm. The circular ring began to glow with blue electricity, and before Ruby could react, a blue ball of electricity was shot out towards her and sent her flying back, yelping in pain.

She heard Slate cackle, and she blindly moved her scythe in front of her, hearing a few bullets hit the blade of her scythe. Ruby hit the ground unsteadily, barely keeping her footing with the electricity messing with her muscles. Her silver eyes darted over to the duo that were now standing side by side as she breathed in shakily, seeing that Slate's two pronged fork had shifted into an assault rifle of sorts with a small blade running along the underbelly. She glared as Lynae spoke yet again.

"That is Megaera," Lynae informed her, "She's my favorite of the three."

"Why are you aiding to this?" Ruby gestured to the Grimm attacking the city, the only force stopping the soulless beasts from destroying the city being the combined might of the Hunters and Huntresses as well as Atlas' forces, "What do you have to gain?"

"Well I get paid," Slate said with a careless shrug, propping his assault rifle on his shoulder. Lynae merely smiled wryly at the purple haired man, shaking her head fondly before her unnatural eyes landed on Ruby.

"Does it really matter to you, the reason that is?" She cocked her head, a snarl curling at her mouth, "If I told you my reason, is there any chance that it would be justified to something as vile as you?"

Ruby blinked, shaking her head, "I— what?"

Slate huffed, "Well that insults me too, Lyn."

"You're an exception," Lynae stated to her partner in a bored tone, before her sneer returned and she took the thin thread holding her blue cloak to her body between her fingers. She pulled the string and threw the blue cloak behind her, and Ruby managed to see the emblem embroidered on the inside of the cloak.

The White Fang's symbol.

"The majority of you humans are scum, undeserving to lick the dirt off my bloody boots," Lynae spat, glaive hoisted over her shoulder as her other hand rested on her jutted out hip, "So why should I care if your city is destroyed?"

Faunus. She was a faunus. But wait… she didn't have an animal trait…

Just as Ruby thought this, Lynae hoisted her glaive off her shoulder and held it in both of her hands, stepping so she stood with feet spaced a few feet apart.

"Surprised, little gem?"

Lynae grinned wickedly at Ruby's befuddled and horrified face, and in a matter of seconds, caramel colored wings spread out from behind Lynae, a plethora of healthy browns and lighter tans adjourning the feathery wings of the hawk faunus. Slate stepped back as Lynae flapped her wings, zooming into the air before speeding toward Ruby with her glaive primed and ready to strike. With a fearful whimper, Ruby rolled out of Lynae's swipe and sped towards Slate, firing her scythe and twirling rapidly. She felt the clang of metal on metal through the vibrations coursing through her scythe, and she jumped back just as Lynae had doubled back and slammed her glaive into the spot where Ruby once stood.

They were toying with her, they had to be, because they both wore confident smirks, a malicious and terrifying glint in their eyes, and they seemed to think together as they moved so fluidly and in perfect harmony. Ruby tried to run, tried to fight, tried to defend, but the duo was always there, pushing at her tauntingly with their weapons and their mocking calls to her, and she had never felt so terrified in all her life.

It wasn't like this with Torchwick. He can't be in charge of these two, it's impossible, she could hold her own against Torchwick with her scythe but not these two!

How did the hawk faunus even know of Mercury's pet name for her? How long has she been watched? Ruby found herself recounting her time at Beacon, distracting herself from the fight as her frenzied thoughts revolved around when this woman started watching her, studying her, doing something to learn her.

"Getting tired, sweetheart?" Slate called in a sickly sweet tone as Ruby stumbled before his weapon shifted back into a two pronged fork, and he smacked Ruby with the blunt edge.

She made a squeak of pain before she tumbled to the ground, her weapon clattering on the rooftop beside her, and it was kicked away from her by a black booted foot. Ruby cradled her side where the pronged fork hit her as she glared up at the smug duo.

"As amusing as your feeble attempts to ward off the inevitable are," Lynae began, her glaive slowly shifting into a bolt-action sniper rifle, "I think Tisiphone really wants to meet you now." She pointed the sniper, Tisiphone Ruby thought bitterly, at the silver eyed girl's face, "Any last words, sweet little rose? Maybe a loving goodbye to your boy-toy?"

Ruby's brows furrowed at that, and her confusion must have showed, since Lynae's self-satisfied grin faded into a look of annoyance. Ruby opened her mouth to speak as she shook her head, but Lynae beat her to it.

"You really are dense, Rosebud," Lynae tisked as she shook her head side to side mockingly, "Your boyfriend Black. Gosh, try to make a joke…"

"You're so blunt all the time it's hard to tell if your joking or not, Lyn," Slate teased with an easy grin, despite the fact that Lynae was still pointing Tisiphone straight at Ruby's face. How can someone be so casual with murder?

"Nothing to say? Hmph, a shame," Lynae showed her pearly white teeth with wide, almost glowing blue eyes, "I like it when they beg—"

Silver dust rounds hit Lynae from her side, knocking Tisiphone away from Ruby and distracting Slate as well. Ruby bolted blindly in the direction of the dust rounds, knowing just who it was without actually seeing, and she almost sobbed in relief as she caught a glance of his silver colored hair, "Mercury!"

She stalled when he zoomed past her, and even from the short time she saw his face she could see the rage, the fury etched every edge and crease of his face. That look itself even scared her, just because it threw her off. Never had she seen such a livid expression on Mercury's face… and to think it is because of these assassins cornering her.

"Gem, just stay back, I got this!" Mercury yelled with a slight hoarseness in his voice.

Ruby watched with a shocked awe as he flipped and avoided Lynae and Slate's hurried attacks before grabbing Crescent Rose and chucking it toward her. The silver eyed girl fumbled the weapon in her hands, adrenaline and fear fueling her motions, and she felt helpless knowing that the Fury and Cerberus could easily best her in battle and she would merely be an obstacle in Mercury's way.

But then she thought of something. _Maybe I can't fight them... but I can find people who can._

At that, Ruby sped off, seeking out Mercury's team.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry for such a late update again. I'm already working on the next chapter!


	17. Boot Meets Throat

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Special thanks to CharlotteWild for mentioning me in a post on RWBY amino! Go follow her if you have an account, she's the sweetest!

Neo grinned savagely with excitement as she smashed her spiked cestus into the face of yet another Beowolf, hearing Scarlet's fond chuckle of amusement toward her. This was the type of action she loved, being thrown into the thick of battle to get her adrenaline pumping.

Plus, pissing off the Grimm through her taunts, especially the Ursai, was so funny.

Although Neo would have preferred her cute little parasol, she silently admitted to herself that it was a refreshing change to switch her fighting style if only for a day. At first she thought of Yang as absolutely nuts when she learned her rather upfront fighting style, but she kind of understood it now. It was exciting to get in someone's face and punch the lights out of them.

…well, Neo had to be smart about how she approached someone since the brawler style isn't always smart (case and point being Neo's curb stomping of Yang mere hours ago) but against dumb enemies like these Ursai and Beowolves, she let herself go crazy.

"Nyx, to your right!"

She twirled away from the rolling Boarbatusk at Scarlet's warning and kicked her foot out at its side, causing it to roll off course. The Grimm smashed into the side of a building, a spiderweb of cracks stemming from its point of impact. Scarlet quickly stopped the piggish Grimm from standing upright by piercing its soft underbelly with his cutlass.

"Nice one, Nyx," Scarlet breathed as he rejoined Neo's side. Neo merely smirked in response and resumed in her ruthless attacks at the Grimm around her, seeing Emerald suddenly appear by her side once the green haired woman sailed through the air and sliced the heads off of two Beowolves.

"Nyx, Ruby's yelling for us," Emerald converted her kusarigamas to pistols before shooting a volley of bullets at the approaching Creeps, "Something about Mercury."

Neo frowned, emerald green eyes glimmering in the relentless sun before she turned abruptly and vaulted over numerous bodies of Grimm that were still in the process of dissipating, and locked onto the whipping red cape of Ruby Rose. She made a small squeaking noise to alert her comrades, waving at Emerald and Scarlet to follow after.

Ruby spotted Neo fairly quickly amidst her frantic search through the horde of Grimm and student, and she waved at them. "Guys, over here!"

The Grimm were relentless, and kept cutting off the trio, and Neo clenched her fist in annoyance. In a flash, she raised her fist with her fingers pointed forward along with the spikes, and after taking careful aim, clenched her fist tightly. The spikes flew from her cestus and impaled into a rather large Ursa in the center of the horde of Grimm, and a mere moment after the Grimm howled in pain, a bright explosion of reds and oranges originated from the spikes and killed all Grimm nearby.

"Bloody hell!" Scarlet yelled as he ducked underneath the flying skull plate of a Beowolf. "Well that's one way to take care of it!"

Neo shrugged happily before skipping over to Ruby, carefully avoiding chunks of disintegrating Grimm parts. Ruby was firing wildly at a pack of approaching Beowolves before turning to Neo, Emerald and Scarlet with wild silver eyes.

"Nyx you gotta help! Th-There's these two people that are working with Torchwick an-and they said that they wanted me dead—"

"Woah, Ruby, slow down," Scarlet soothed, placing a hand on Ruby's shoulder with concern written across his face. "What two people? Where are they?"

Ruby swallowed thickly before composing herself, and Neo resisted the sudden urge to give the poor girl a hug. _Huh, weird._

"It was a girl and a guy. They said their names were Lynae Erin and Tyrian Slate?" _—Oh for the love of—_ "Mercury must have spotted me fighting them, and he attacked them before telling me to run."

"He did what?" Emerald looked horrified, and her crimson eyes found Neo's. Neo typed quickly in her scroll, showing it to Emerald only.

_{The idiot has got himself in trouble enough as it is, but he needs help. We'll talk about Cinder later}_

Neo deleted the message as Emerald nodded shakily. "A-Alright. Nyx and I will go. Scarlet, you stay with Ruby—"

"N-No way, I'm not leaving Mercury there, not again!" Ruby shook her head vigorously. "I may not be able to fight them head on but I can provide covering fire, help you out when there's an opening—"

"And I'm helping too," Scarlet added as he glanced at Neo, "I'm not letting you two run into a fight with people we know nothing about."

Neo scowled, but didn't bother arguing. Mercury needed her. _{Fine, but you have to listen to Emerald and I, okay? Ruby, show us where he is}_

"O-Okay, follow me!" Ruby pivoted on her heel before running towards a small string of stores and using her weapon to boost herself onto the roof. The trio followed swiftly, and soon enough, Ruby pointed to a building about a block away.

"You see them? They're all right there!"

And Neo did see them. She also saw a very pleased Cinder gazing at the carnage on the streets. That complicates things.

Neo glanced at Emerald, typing quickly. _{Emerald, you need to use your semblance on Cinder so she doesn't see us}_

_:What? No way!:_ Emerald communicated to Neo through her semblance. _:If Cinder finds out I tricked her mind she'll kill me!:_

_{If she sees us fighting amongst each other we'll all suffer}_

Emerald pursed her lips, giving a mere second to debate with herself before Neo heard Emerald's voice echo in her mind, :Okay, fine. I'm using it at the bare minimum though. Only if Cinder hears the fighting behind her. Hopefully she won't, since it's a good distance away from her:

"Nyx? What do we do?" Ruby asked urgently, silver eyes flickering between the two older women. "We can't just sit here!"

Neo peered around Ruby to watch Mercury for a moment. He was doing relatively fine against the unlikely duo, falling fluidly into a defensive posture whenever he couldn't get close enough for a crippling kick. But Lynae and Slate were harmonious in fighting together, and eventually Mercury would get tired in fighting a two on one.

The smile that began to turn at the corners of her mouth as Lynae's aura flared and green tendrils reached toward Mercury. _Son of a—_

_{We have to move quickly, now listen up!}_

* * *

"I should have known that you'd intervene!" Lynae shouted, showing a rare surge of emotion as Mercury's greaves blocked her glaive. Mercury watched as her healthy brown wings spread around her in what he assumed to be instinct, and as she flapped them once, he felt himself knocked back slightly by the force of the wind gust behind them, "You think you can hide from Cinder now? She'll skin you alive for getting in the way!"

Mercury didn't answer, merely turning on one foot and kicking at the two pronged fork that was zooming towards his face. Slate was knocked off kilter and Mercury took advantage, landing a series of rapid kicks on his unprotected side. The silver haired teen flipped backwards with the help of his greaves firing off two rounds into the roof, Lynae's glaive missing his torso by mere inches.

In all honesty, he wasn't thinking of the repercussions at all when he sped into battle. All he knew was Ruby had taken off and after Neo tapped his arm and pointed him in that direction, he followed. Then he saw Team Rocket monologuing over Ruby.

At that point a blind rage had consumed his mind. He felt that odd kind of icy yet kind of blindingly hot feeling flash over his head, the kind of feeling that would occur to anyone if they were embarrassed and a weird tingling prickled at the mind. He felt just that, but it was because of a completely different feeling.

He wouldn't dare say it aloud, but within the haze of his mind, he accepted it. He never thought he was the protective type, until now.

Lynae and Slate kept pushing, and Mercury let his mind drift into a detached state as muscle memory guided his body around the attacks made by his so called allies. The world bled away, the snarls of Grimm and the clangs of metal became background noise, leaving him merely with his body, a tool to defeat them, and his sight, the key to evade them.

They kept taunting, but Mercury didn't fear his possible death at Cinder's hand. He didn't feel trepidation when Lynae snarled that he would be tortured for his 'betrayal' as she states it, because in reality, he knew he would be discarded eventually.

That's what Emerald refused to understand. They are the tools, and Cinder is the carpenter. But he was becoming too engrossed in his musings. Besides, he's waited far too long to smash Slate's face in, so he might as well pay attention and enjoy it.

Mercury grinned wickedly as his boot smashed into Slate's nose, pushing the purple haired man back as Lynae swooped in and forced Mercury to retreat. Lynae flapped her wings and circled around Slate, locking eyes with her partner for a split second. Mercury frowned, but he crouched into a defensive stance, bending his elbows and keeping his fingers unbent and hands relaxed.

In a flash Lynae flew out of sight and Slate charged again. He twirled his two-pronged fork gracefully, switching hands as the rigid metal spun between his fingers, but the weapon merely scraped against the vambraces protecting his forearms uselessly. He chuckled before catching Slate's weapon in his left hand and pulling it downwards away from his body, leaving Slate completely open. A solid kick to his cheek had Slate skidding across the rooftop.

Mercury had only a second to smirk before he felt a whoosh of air hit his upper arm as Lynae managed to rip one of his rerebraces off.

Lynae stayed airborne and maneuvered over Mercury's angered swipe, and her electric blue eyes widened as she quickly examined Mercury's exposed arm. "So that's why you always cover yourself up. You have some good ones too, huh?"

His eyes widened as his grey eyes darted to the purposely carved scars on his skin. Well that's not good.

"All's fair in hate and war." Lynae gave a deranged smile before her bright green aura flared around her, and she raised her arm. Tendrils of her aura shot out within a second, touching his arm for a millisecond before he could jerk away rapidly and try to lurch forward and stop her.

With Lynae, it didn't matter if you were used to pain. Mercury could throw in every tactic he could possibly use to quell it, just as he learned all those years with Marcus. But she had a way of taking you back to a time where you didn't have a resistance to such things, and she opened the wound and made you relive the pain all over again.

Her semblance was a real bitch.

Mercury hissed as the scars on his arms suddenly felt as if the dull, heated nails were cutting through him all over again, and he staggered slightly on his feet. He knew it wasn't really happening again, but he couldn't stop his mind from thinking that it was, so he instead tried to throw his focus back into the fight.

Lynae stayed in place to focus as Slate grinned and took advantage of Mercury's distraction, and he broke through the silver haired teen's guard easily. Swatting away Mercury's attempts to deflect, his pronged-fork spiked painfully into his side before jerking it upwards and catching Mercury's chin. Mercury caught himself purely by instinct, but Lynae didn't let up.

The tendrils of green wrapped around the place where flesh met metal, and Mercury felt his legs being sawed off again.

"Argh!" He had to plant his feet firmly and left a wide gap between them, bracing his hands on his knees to ensure that the prosthetics were still there. Mercury glared at Lynae through the mind numbing pain.

"Cinder told me about the prosthetics for the next phase." Lynae shrugged, her aura flickering slightly due to the constant use of her semblance. "Sorry."

She looked anything but sorry.

Through the pain-filled haze in his mind, he heard a whistling before three spikes embedded themselves in the ground around Lynae in a triangle. Lynae glanced down at the projectiles in confusion, before a distinct beep was heard. Her eyes widened.

"No!"

Mercury watched in dazed confusion as the spikes exploded around Lynae, and he stumbled back in confusion as the pain lessened slightly. It still felt like barbed wire was being jammed into his arms, and he still felt the searing pain from the past as Marcus crudely cauterized the wounds he gave to his own son.

"Lyn!" Slate shouted in surprise before he turned to Mercury, gripping his weapon tightly. He began to charge, but in a flash Emerald was in front of him, attacking with her kusarigamas.

"Ruby, now!" Emerald yelled, and Mercury suddenly saw rose petals floating past him as gentle arms wrapped around him and sped him away.

"Mercury! Are you okay?" He heard Ruby squeak out just as she skidded to a stop moments later. He hung onto her arms for dear life as the inertia tried to keep him moving. "What's this green stuff?"

Mercury coughed before he stood up straighter, the green tendrils abruptly pulling away and racing back to Lynae. He grimaced. "Thought I told you to run."

"I wasn't going to just leave you," Ruby scolded with a harsh frown, stepping away from him with a concerned look. "But what happened? One minute you were fine and the next you were just…frozen."

The silver haired teen looked over Ruby's head to see that Nyx had joined in the fight, already having cut through Lynae's weak aura. The hawk faunus immediately took flight once her green aura shimmered out of existence and took to using Tisiphone to attack from afar.

"It's her semblance," Mercury huffed, keeping a critical eye on the fight that Ruby had just carried him away from. "She makes you feel pain that you went through in the past."

Ruby's silver eyes suddenly glued themselves to the exposed portion of his arm. "S-So… is that—"

"Later," Mercury said in a harsher tone than he meant, and he softened the blow by caressing her cheek and promising, "I'll tell you later."

Ruby swallowed before nodding shakily, biting her lip in nervousness. "Y-Yang and Neptune should be on their way, I sent them a message. But Mercury… that hawk faunus said that they were here just to hurt me." The look in her eyes was heart-wrenching. "Why am I a target? What do they want with me?"

Mercury tensed his jaw when she admitted that. This attack wasn't an opportunity they took, they planned it. A new wave of rage rushed through him with such intensity he felt dizzy, and his dark eyes focused on the two allies that caused far too much trouble for him to be idle any longer.

He made eye contact with Emerald, and the look in his eyes was all that was needed to get his message to her. Wordlessly, she shifted her pistols to her kusarigamas, whipping them around and letting the chains extend. The chains wrapped around Slate's legs, and he yelled in surprise before toppling to the ground. He made to dart forward, but Ruby gripped his arm tightly, wrapping both her arms around his own and hugging it to her chest.

"What are you doing?! Emerald, Nyx and Scarlet can drive them off, you don't—"

"Driving them off isn't enough," Mercury growled before raising his free arm and letting his semblance radiate out of his hand. The silvery ripples hit Ruby and suddenly she was moving slow, the proof being that she was in mid-blink.

He gently pried her hands off his arm, and Ruby was unable to react quick enough as he sped off toward Slate. Emerald spied his approach and whipped her body around, hurling Slate off the building with her weapons. Mercury ignored the startled 'bloody hell!' from Scarlet as he nearly knocked the redhead down and leapt off the building, flipping forward slowly before righting his body just in time for his boots to slam into the pavement, cracks spider webbing from his landing.

Emerald's chains retracted from Slate's legs, and Mercury stalked up to the Cerberus of Cinder's faction to kick him hard in the side, sending him back to the pavement.

"Ey, Black, quit it!" Slate groaned out as Mercury slammed the heel of his boot into Slate's nose. Mercury felt a sick satisfaction as his deep purple aura cracked and fizzled, unable to protect the blow. Slate coughed up some blood as his nose was now resting at a crooked angle.

"Why did you target Ruby?" Mercury asked sharply, planting one foot on his chest.

"We didn't do sh—"

Slate was cut off with a wheeze as Mercury jabbed at his lungs with his foot without any care over his injuries, stormy grey eyes burning holes into the green eyed man's head. He didn't have time for games, and his patience was always thin when it came to Slate.

"Why did you target her?"

"Why are you so protective of her, huh?" Slate coughed, spitting blood to the side before turning his head back to Mercury. "Ask yourself that first before trying to figure out why we did. Come on, it's obvious! You've got a soft spot for her, and Cinder noticed! You screwed up— argh!"

Mercury paced in agitation as Slate curled his legs inward to protect his more than likely broken ribs. His mind was whirling, spinning, because he didn't know how to save this, didn't know how to deflect Cinder's wrath again and didn't know how to resolve this long term. He was borrowing time, he was so stupid to be borrowing time, but he has been anything but rational since he stepped foot on that damn academy's grounds.

No, not the academy, Mercury corrected mentally, ignoring Slate's movement as he knew the man wasn't able to get up. Ever since I met her, I've slowly descended into stupidity.

Slate was talking the entire time his mind worked, and he tuned in for the last part. "—you know that wouldn't've worked out man, I mean, she's the thing that we all despise" —loose ends, I have to tie up all loose ends— "And plus, you're coming across as a pedophile dude. She's, like, fifteen right? Not even legal." —Slate's a loose end. So is Lynae, but her word against his, Neo's, and Emeralds may be enough— "Yeah, we've all been overworked in this, but you should find a legal chick to have fun with for a night, not a kid that probably doesn't even know—"

"Have they ever met?"

Slate stopped in confusion. "…they?"

Mercury turned to look at the purple haired man, dangerously still and expressionless as he regarded the man on the ground. "Yeah. You know—" he darted forward suddenly, his boot hitting Slate's throat before pinning his head to the ground, and Slate's hands instinctively grasped Mercury's heel as he growled, "—I think introductions are in order. Boot, _meet throat._ "

"The fu— Black, get off me!"

"Nah," Mercury huffed, excitement beginning to boil with the rage in his gut, and a sadistic smile twisted at his lips. "I'm done tolerating you."

Slate glared up at the grey-clad teen before spitting blood on Mercury's shoe. "You're not gonna kill me."

Mercury rolled his eyes at Slate's pathetic attempt to stall, and in a flash he removed his boot before firing it upwards and to his right. He placed his boot back on Slate's throat as Lynae shrieked before plummeting to the ground, her right wing mangled by the silver shot. Mercury watched as Lynae slid across the pavement before slamming into a brick building, groaning in pain.

"I've been an assassin longer than you." Mercury shrugged at Slate in a nonchalant manner, smirking at Slate's horrified look. "To even think you'd distract me with that is insulting."

Mercury felt a rush of adrenaline as he lifted his boot, thoroughly enjoying Slate's fear-stricken face as his boot began to plummet back down towards his throat—

"Mercury, no!"

A red blur collided with him, rose petals floating all around and the scent of strawberries filling his nose, and his back collided with the pavement. He stared, wide eyed as Ruby pushed her hood off her head and glared at him.

"You would have killed him if you did that!" Ruby chirped frantically.

Mercury knew he shouldn't say it, but his mind was muddled by anger, fear, confusion, and he spit out, "That was the point."

Ruby made a choked noise in the back of her throat, glancing back for only a second as Emerald jumped down and knocked out Slate with a solid punch to the temple. The silver eyed girl turned back to him. "B-But why? We're training to protect people, not kill them!"

He forced himself to not be harsh when he lifted the small redhead off him before practically jumping up onto his feet and whirling to face the girl again. "Yeah, and that was what I was doing! Protecting you."

"How is killing him protecting me?" Ruby stood as well as she shook her head in confusion.

"He was trying to kill you," Mercury exclaimed in disbelief, seeing in his peripheral that Emerald was watching with a concerned look. Why didn't Ruby understand?

"That's why we have jails," Ruby stressed, "We don't just execute every criminal we find! He won't be able to hurt anyone in a jail cell—"

"You don't know his type like I do, Ruby," Mercury shook his head violently as he began to step side to side. "It doesn't matter if he's in jail, he'll get out, and he'll come right for you, just like her—" Mercury cut himself off as he gestured to the spot Lynae is, or he should say was. There was nothing but a blood stain where she once was. "Are you kidding me?"

Ruby followed his gaze only to swallow nervously as she saw the absence of the hawk faunus. "W-We'll find her again, and we'll beat her again."

"We? You barely lasted five minutes against them," Mercury scowled. Unconsciously, he knew that he had to just shut up, but his mouth wouldn't listen and more horrid things came spewing out of his mouth, "You don't even understand the enemy, let alone are able to fight them."

Ruby crossed her arms, pouting, "Oh, and you do?"

Mercury nodded sharply.

"How?"

Emerald surged forward. "Mercury, don't—"

"Because I am him!"

The look on Ruby's face made him realize what he just said, and he backed up a few paces. _Crap, my boot just met my damn mouth._

Emerald was staring at them both, hands suspended in mid-air as she gaped at Mercury, but he clenched his fists and turned away. He felt caged, powerless, and he felt like running. He's never ran before, not once since Marcus stopped breathing,

_Wrong. Ruby has made you run twice._

"No...no, you're not," Ruby shook her head slowly as her wide eyes gazed up at him in concern, arms reaching forward. "Mercury, look at me."

He couldn't bring himself to look up, and abruptly he turned, planning to storm away to somewhere, anywhere but here, ignoring everything around him at this point. He didn't make it five feet when he felt a familiar body collide with his back, small arms wrapping around him.

"Gem—" Mercury grit his teeth at the affectionate name. "Ruby, let go."

"Not until you stop trying to run away again!" Ruby exclaimed, and he felt her press her forehead into his back. "You think I don't know that you hide things?"

Mercury felt his blood run cold at the statement, and his steel eyes darted to Emerald's, who suddenly gripped her pistols that rested in their holsters. His sudden look of fury had Emerald releasing her weapons, and she silently slipped away as he cleared his throat and addressed the small girl. "What are you talking about?"

Ruby withdrew from him only to maneuver herself so she was standing in front of him. "I'm not blind. Certain subjects you avoid, or you get uncomfortable talking about them. Whenever I mention your dad—" Mercury immediately tensed and Ruby noticed "—you do _that!_ I may not notice all the time, but I know you're hiding things from me. But despite you hiding things, I know you're a good person." Ruby impulsively grabbed his hands. "I know you're not him. But if you kill him, you will be."

He gaped at her in shock, the firmness in her eyes stopping him from losing his senses again and spewing out his inner demons. He couldn't think of what to say, didn't know how to respond to that, and glanced down at his stiff hands that were cradled tenderly between her own.

Ruby sighed at his lack of response, and she dropped his hands before taking the rerebrace that Lynae had knocked off his arm into her arms and tugging his arm so she could refit it on. "You know that I care about you, Mercury, and I know you. You're not like Slate, but you cover things up with teasing and sarcastic quips. If you want to keep things covered up, I won't pry." Ruby finished securing the rerebrace to his bicep, smiling sweetly up at him. "But if you uncover what you're hiding, I won't think any different of you."

The sincerity in her voice was unmistakable and he could hardly form a thought. She was the sweetest thing in this world, so innocent despite the darkness surrounding her, and he felt a bloom of happiness overcome him when the thought that she was his gem, his Ruby, came across his mind. Despite her blindness to his past, she still accepted and cared about him even when she witnessed his actions toward Slate, and he felt himself smiling. He didn't even think, merely acted impulsively on the desire he's held himself back from all this time. He heard her squeak as his lips crashed into hers, his hand tangling in her hair as the other wrapping around her waist. Her response was slow, but Mercury soon felt her arms wind around his neck and her lips move against his, albeit clumsily, but to him it was Ruby and that was all that mattered.

He breathed in strawberries and vanilla, basked in the fact that Ruby was in his arms, soft and small and delicate, just like the flower her name reflects. Her lips were velvety, like smooth and silky rose petals, and he had to convince himself to draw away for breath.

As he drew back, he watched as Ruby's eyes pulled themselves open, a dazed look in shimmering silver pools, and her face was lightly flushed in a delicate rosy pink. She looked as breathless as him, warmth radiating from her form like a fire, and his forehead fell against hers in a fluid yet somehow natural movement.

"Thank you, Ruby."

She shifted on her feet, a precious smile twisting at her mouth, and she looked at him with twinkling wonder in her eyes. "For what?"

And what was he thanking her for? His mind went blank again, in less than a second he had no clue what he should respond, or why he said that in the first place. He could have said a multitude of things, all of which were too plain to fully translate his meaning to her, so why did he say thank you?

…or, maybe he said that because there simply wasn't a way to tell her what she's done for him. Her actions, her mere presence helped in a multitude of ways that he couldn't even begin to describe. The subject was far too broad.

"Just… thank you."

Mercury felt like the situation was so cliché, but just seeing Ruby's eyes light up was worth it.

"Oh. Well…" Ruby giggled, "You're welcome."

Mercury chuckled, a new and a definitely not unwelcomed feeling of pure elation making him feel light, and Ruby smiled back with an equally happy expression. Playfully, Ruby nudged her nose against his nose before the distinct click of a picture being taken reached their ears.

"Well hello there, lovebirds!" Yang exclaimed with a big grin, standing with hands on her hips and a smug Neo beside her, scroll in hand. "Fancy meeting you here!"

Mercury sighed irritably before scowling in the dastardly duo's direction, while Ruby pouted and stomped her foot.

"Yaaaaang!" Ruby whined.

"What? Remember, you called me, sis!" Yang replied smugly, a twinkle in her lilac orbs. "But anyway, the Grimm are thinning out and while you two were smooching, Nep, Scar and Em went down that street." Yang pointed to her left before winking. "But don't let that stop you."

Ruby made an adorable little hmph as she crossed her arms and glared at her older sister, and Mercury's scowl twitched back into a slight smile as he kept her tucked into his side. His grey eyes locked onto Neo, who was still smirking at them both with her scroll in hand, and he arched a brow. "You took another photo, didn't you?"

Neo nodded happily, pigtails swaying from side to side before she typed into her scroll and tossed it to him. _{I'm just glad you got your head out of your ass}_

Ruby gasped before laughing out loud at that, and Mercury scowled yet again at Neo, who leant her upper body forward and stuck her tongue out playfully at him. Yang grinned at her antics before strutting forward.

"Well, I'm glad I don't have to watch you two dance around each other anymore. It was kind of obvious." Yang glanced meaningfully between the two before her eyes settled on Mercury. "Though I hope I don't regret letting this happen."

Ruby covered her face. "Yang…"

Mercury merely squeezed Ruby's shoulder before staring steadily back at Yang, seeing warning but also acceptance in her eyes, and he managed a sideways smile before nodding once at the blonde. Yang kept his gaze for a moment longer before punching him softly on the shoulder.

Or, Yang's definition of softly. It still hurt like a bitch.

"Okay okay Rubes, protective big sister mode is shutting off… for now," Yang relented before prying Ruby's hands away from her eyes. "Anyway, are you okay? Your message had me worried!"

"I'm okay," Ruby assured quickly before glancing at Mercury with a slight smile. "Mercury came just in time. I found Nyx and Emerald as soon as I could."

Yang smiled slightly at Mercury. "Well, I guess I don't have to worry too much now, huh?"

Before Mercury could think up a smartass reply that would more than likely give him a fresh bruise dished out by the overprotective sister, a flurry of movement and mutterings put them all on alert. Mercury immediately pushed Ruby behind him and assumed a battle ready stance as the redhead clutched at his jacket, while Yang and Neo both raised their fists, Ember Celica and Mana Diavolului in their active forms.

"—watch the coat, it's more expensive than you!" Ugh… yeah, Mercury knew that voice.

Mercury relaxed and straightened up as did Neo when the 'Criminal Mastermind' rounded the corner with his hands bound behind his back and Scarlet, Neptune, and Emerald all pointing their weapons at him. Torchwick kept his face carefully blank as his green eyes flicked over the disguised Neo, who looked a little bit upset, and Mercury could see curiosity as his eyes found Mercury with Ruby still gripping his shirt.

"You found him!" Ruby chirped, releasing Mercury's shirt and bouncing on her toes.

"More like Emerald did, but yeah." Neptune smiled slightly at the small girl, amusement dancing in ocean blue eyes.

Mercury glanced in confusion toward Emerald, and she quickly utilized her semblance to speak with him.

_:Cinder's orders. Plan has changed slightly, but our part is still the same so far. And before you ask no, she didn't mention anything about Lynae or Slate:_

He didn't know if that was a good or a bad thing.

"Yes yes, high fives and hugs for all, great job," Torchwick rolled his eyes as he quipped sarcastically, "It seems that you finally caught me, Red."

Ruby cocked her head with a calculating look before crossing her arms, and Mercury barely held in a laugh of astonishment at her response, "You can joke all you like, but it won't get you anywhere in a cell, and it certainly won't get to me."

He didn't hold in the laugh at Torchwick's face at her response however.

"Neptune, Scarlet, I got him." Emerald roughly pushed Torchwick's shoulder to get him moving, to which he grunted with a sneer. "You can go ahead."

"You sure Em?" Scarlet raised a brow. "It would be no bother to make sure—"

"No no, I'm sure," Emerald assured them with a smile. "Besides, that assassin still has to be dealt with. You know, the one out cold in the middle of the street?"

All eyes turned to Slate, who was indeed still out cold on the asphalt.

"Ah, bully. Alright Em, I see your point," Scarlet shrugged with a grin. "Good fighting today."

"Ditto!" Emerald called behind her as she towed Torchwick away.

Ruby smiled at Mercury before jogging over to give Yang a big hug, and Mercury frowned at Emerald's retreating back as Scarlet and Neptune went about tying Slate's hands and ankles together to ensure he wouldn't run once he woke up. They needed Torchwick to cause chaos while the Vytal Tournament was in place. Why would Cinder change that plan?

Neo waved her scroll in his face to get his attention. _{Best not to think about it now, she'll tell us eventually.}_

He begrudgingly agreed, gaze easing over to the sisterly duo that were poking fun at each other. Ruby was blushing madly as Yang grinned and slung an arm around her shoulder, and Mercury couldn't help but feel slightly nervous.

"What am I going to tell Cinder to get out of this one?" Mercury asked quietly, leaning down slightly as he observed the others around them to ensure they couldn't hear. "I attacked two of our own."

_{So did Emerald and I}_ Neo countered quickly, a stern look in her eyes. _{All three of us are in this. But don't you worry, I'm sure I can handle it just fine with Emerald. The way I see it, you need to make sure none of the students suspect anything about the assassins beyond the fact they were with Torchwick. Right?}_

Mercury didn't know what to say. Neo was covering for him, telling him she'll handle Cinder and make sure she gets him out of danger while he stays hidden from Cinder. He never expected such kindness from Neo, not before. "You don't have to do that-"

_{No really, I do. Cinder got Roman arrested because of her little plan and I'm pissed}_ Neo showed him quickly, a harsh frown that wasn't directed towards him on her face. _{Let me handle Cinder for you. Didn't you promise Little Red that you'd take her out for coffee?}_

As quickly as Neo changed her angered mood to a coy one, she twisted on her heel and skipped toward Scarlet and Neptune, hip-checking both boys of Team SSSN and smiling wickedly at them.

Mercury chuckled quietly at her antics before glancing at Ruby and Yang again. A warm, twisting feeling formed in his gut at the sight of the cute little redhead, and Mercury welcomed it despite the shaky alliance he had with his employer now. He never was that concerned of his own life, and if he died, so be it.

"Gem," He called as he began walking toward them. "Have a couple more hours to kill?"

Cinder always did mumble about destiny when she thought he wasn't listening in. He might as well see how his played out.


	18. Demons and Angels

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Things get serious!

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry for the long wait, I have had little time to make the coding for this chapter. Hope you enjoy!!

Blake and Weiss waited patiently on the Bullhead back to Beacon. Not all of the students have piled in just yet, but what concerned them the most was the fact that Ruby and Yang weren't back just yet. Zwei, on the other hand, had returned a few minutes ago, trotting up to the two girls and driving Blake to jump onto the nearest tall object; that being Sun.

"Argh, can't see, Blake!" Sun groaned as he wobbled unsteadily on his feet, the cat faunus having jumped up onto his back and inadvertently cover his eyes with her arms.

"Just don't fall, and keep me away from the dog," Blake hissed threateningly into his ear, amber eyes eying the panting corgi with distrust. "He's plotting something."

"What?" Sun finally managed to regain his footing and nudge Blake's arms away from his eyes. "Who's plotting? I'll get 'em before they plot!" And then, spotting the furry little corgi, his toothy grin dropped and he cocked a brow. "Uh, what's a dog doing here?"

"It's Ruby and Yang's," Weiss informed him with an eye roll. "And someone has a small fear—"

"Weiss," Blake growled, only to clutch Sun's shoulders frantically when he bent down to scratch behind the corgi's ears. "S-Sun, what're you doing?!"

"Aw, come on Blake, he's harmless!"

"How do you know that?!"

"What are all of you yelling about?" Yang asked as she hopped into the Bullhead, a distracted look about her.

Weiss sighed. "Zwei and Blake."

"Oh, right." Yang nodded before smiling faintly at the corgi now pawing at her boot. "So, where's Team JNPR and the rest?"

"Still waiting for them to show up," Sun said through a strained voice as he supported not only his own weight, but Blake's as well. "And who knows where my team is right now."

"Scar and Nep are hauling one of Torchwick's goons to the prison vessel." Yang crossed her arms, a dark look veiling her face. "He tried to hurt Ruby."

_"What?"_ The trio chorused. Zwei merely barked.

"Yeah, him and some hawk faunus. I didn't get to see the faunus though," Yang informed them with a sigh. "I tried to ask Ruby more about them, but she clammed up quick. She only told me that she ran into them, and Mercury came just in time to help her out."

"I guess Torchwick is trying to eliminate anyone directly involved in taking him down." Blake scowled.

"Yeah, well, he won't be able to dish out any more orders," Yang said with a huge grin, smashing her fists together. "We caught him."

Weiss' eyes widened as she smiled in disbelief. "Really?! That's fantastic! Maybe his arrest will silence the White Fang for a bit."

"Maybe," Blake agreed reluctantly, though she too seemed content. "At least we have one less criminal to worry about."

"Yeah, but where's Ruby?" Sun cut in. "And Mercury? He was with her, right?"

At that, Yang's smile dimmed, and the distracted look returned to her face. "They're uh… they're going out on a date."

An astonished silence fell over them. And surprisingly, Blake was the one two break it.

_"Finally."_

"W-What?!" Yang spluttered.

"I've had to watch Ruby flounder over her feelings for Mercury for quite a while now," Blake elaborated with a soft smile. "I'm glad they finally admitted it to each other."

"I…have to agree," Weiss pitched in, earning a shocked look from Yang. Weiss was quick to defend herself, "Look, I've just noticed that around Mercury, Ruby seems exponentially happier. And remember, she fought hard for his friendship."

Yang shook her head, swiveling to the last person in the Bullhead. "Sun?"

With three pairs of eyes on him, Sun smiled a little sheepishly. "Well uh… I had a hand in that little scheme Nyx had for getting them together during the dance. I dig it."

"Wh— scheme?!" Yang screeched. "What scheme?!"

"Uh…" Sun chuckled nervously.

"I had a hand in it too," Blake admitted unashamedly, only to squeak as Zwei barked again. She huddled closer to Sun, who didn't seem to mind at all.

Yang slapped a hand to her forehead, shaking her head as she stared at the metallic wall of the Bullhead. The three watched in suspense, until Yang eventually started laughing slightly to herself.

"…Yang?" Weiss broached.

"My little sister is going on a date," Yang stressed. "…she's growing up."

Yang smiled a watery smile, and Blake cooed, "Aw, Yang…"

"Ruby is growing up," Yang repeated, feeling saddened yet proud all at once. A stray tear leaked out of the corner of her eye, and she brought a hand up to cup her mouth.

Blake slipped off of Sun's back, ignoring Zwei to walk forward and engulf Yang in a comforting hug. "Yeah, she is. But she still needs her big sister."

Weiss and Sun smiled slightly at the scene before looking at each other. Sun shrugged a little before trudging forward and circling his arms around both girls, looking expectantly at the heiress. Weiss rolled her eyes before shuffling forward and awkwardly throwing her arms around Yang, only for Blake and Sun to wrap their arms around her as well.

They failed to see a pair of eyes watching them before slipping out of the Bullhead.

* * *

"How'd you find this place?"

Mercury looked up from the menu that he was clenching tightly between his fingers, glancing around the small coffee shop he had whisked Ruby away to. "Walked by it right after Emerald and I left Tukson's. When we first met?"

Ruby made a small ah of understanding, leaning her elbow on the shiny wooden table as her frame was dwarfed by the maroon colored booth she was in. Mercury risked a soft smile at her wandering look, a calmness overtaking him as she hummed mindlessly and took in the cozy shop.

The faint scent of coffee beans brewing wafted through the air combined with the aroma of sweets being baked in a hot oven. The shop was for the most part empty, save for the barista behind the counter and two teen girls on the opposite side of the shop. They didn't look to be related, but Mercury didn't dwell on them. He ignored the trickles of light from the sun peeking over the horizon as well as the questioning look from the barista before focusing on Ruby again.

"I heard Tukson's is shut down now." Ruby frowned suddenly, fiddling with the hem of her cape. Mercury kept his eyes glued to the menu again.

"Yeah, something about a robbery gone wrong."

"Yeah…" Ruby trailed off, eyes going slightly out of focus. "It's weird that nothing was stolen from the register though. I… never met him."

Mercury glanced up at her over his menu before dropping it onto the table. Ruby looked saddened by the fact that she never met Tukson, and Mercury pursed his lips before reaching over and taking her hand, warmth filling his tone.

"Gem, you and I both know there was nothing you could have done to stop it. These things, sometimes they just happen. Especially random crimes like that one." _Or carefully thought out crimes._

"I know… I just don't like seeing people get hurt… or die," Ruby finished with a slight wince before shaking her head free of her troubles in favor of beaming a smile at Mercury. "But at least we pushed back the Grimm. We might not have stopped them from hurting everyone… but we pushed them back."

"Yeah. You did good out there… for a first year." Mercury smirked as Ruby made an indignant squawk.

"Well excuse me for being a little sloppy after I was running around Mountain Glenn all day before being captured by Torchw—" Ruby's eyes widened before she sunk further into her seat, withdrawing her hand from his sheepishly. Mercury narrowed his eyes, remembering Neo's hurried texts to him concerning how Ruby somehow managed to stumble upon the makeshift base within the tunnels. He narrowed his eyes slightly, trying to find a balance of showing concern and confusion at her slip up.

"Captured by who?" Mercury questioned. "Why were you captured at all?"

"I— I uh… I mean, pfft, captured is such a foreboding word," Ruby stuttered with a nervous giggle, trying to hide what happened during her mission. Mercury tapped his fingers impatiently on the table. "I wasn't… I mean I may have witnessed some of the White Fang's activity down in the tunnels, er—"

"Ruby, tell me what happened," Mercury said calmly as an underlying sense of panic brewed in his chest. _Was she hiding it because she didn't want to worry him, or did something happen while Neo wasn't present?_

"I— I was stupid." Ruby's form immediately slouched and she stared at her lap. "Everyone else was sleeping, and I followed Zwei outside the building we were camping out in. I saw two people with the White Fang symbol on their backs and I didn't even think to tell my team before following them…"

Her silver eyes closed as she remembered the next part, and Mercury leant forward as genuine worry came across his features.

And then?" He prompted.

"I… fell into a sinkhole and happened to land right in the middle of their base… and Torchwick was there," Ruby rushed out with an embarrassed flush across her face.

Mercury blinked owlishly, letting that little piece of information process before he felt his lips twitch. Ruby glared immediately.

_"Don't you dare—"_

Mercury burst out laughing, Ruby's protests barely heard over the sound, and he wiped at his eyes before shaking his head in incredulity.

"It's not funny you jerk!" Ruby whined before crossing her arms and pouting. Mercury tried to calm his laughter as he slid out of the seat.

"Heh, sorry Gem," Mercury managed to wheeze out before leaning over and ruffling her hair. "How do you take your coffee?"

"Cream and five sugars," Ruby said instantly, and Mercury arched a brow.

"Aren't you hyper enough?"

"Hey!"

Mercury raised his hands in placation. "Alright alright, I didn't mean it. I'll get our drinks and I can tell you about… things."

She knew immediately when his mood changed to dread, and she gave a reassuring smile and boldly leant forward to brush her lips against his, turning sheepish at the sudden predatory gleam in his eye. "You don't have to tell me everything if you're not ready."

He grinned then, reaching up to caress her cheek and push a few locks of hair behind her ear. He was being extremely cheesy, but he couldn't resist with the flushed yet elated look on her face. "I'll be back."

Mercury made his way to the barista and put in their order, and he drummed his fingers on the countertop. One of the teens from the other table stepped up beside Mercury, much to his surprise, and she smiled at the barista.

"Orange juice and a hot chocolate, Rai?" The barista called without even bothering to look up from his work.

"You got it. Try to skimp on the chocolate syrup on top this time though. Cherry's hyper enough," The woman replied with a small laugh. "Oh, and put this guy's order on mine."

Mercury blinked before turning and actually acknowledging the girl beside him. Once the woman noticed him staring, he arched a brow.

"My friend over there saw you and your girlfriend and thought you were too cute together," The woman said with a shrug and a slight smile. "She insisted we pay for your drinks."

"…thanks," Mercury replied warily, his walls already zooming up and masking any emotion he may have had on his face. His eyes darted over to the teen still in the booth, but he only saw a large mane of red hair and pale skin.

"I've spotted you two on campus before," She said offhandedly as she reached over the counter for a few napkins and straws. "Never had the chance to say hello though thanks to the year gap. I'm Rai Panther, leader of Team PNTR. Shade Academy."

She offered a hand to him, and he eyed it for a moment before shaking it firmly. "Mercury Black."

"Pleasure to meet you," Rai replied cordially. She wasn't too short or tall, about an inch or two below Yang's height, and a black fedora with a sunset orange strip of fabric along the base sat atop shoulder length ebony hair curled around the ends. Mismatched eyes, the left being a stunning green and the right the color of liquid gold, stared at him innocently, though the narrowed shape of her eyes and flecks of gold eyeliner chillingly reminded him of Cinder.

Her outfit was about as much as one can expect from Vacuo. She wore a black strapless shirt with a low cut and deep orange lace wrapped just below her breasts and just above her hips. A gold satin ribbon was tied around the lace with a large bow tied at the front. She also wore a black miniskirt with a golden belt slanted to rest on one hip and fall off the other, and deep orange pantyhose that ran into knee high lace up black boots with orange laces. Lastly, she wore orange and black gloves that extended midway up her biceps, the fabric being pointed into two triangular shapes at the end of the gloves. A gold outline of a panther's head resided on the backs of both her hands.

Mercury hadn't ever heard of a Rai Panther, nor did he hear of Team PNTR, and he immediately jumped at the opportunity to at the very least bring Cinder back something that may save his hide, and asked, "So, what year are you? And who's on your team?"

"Technically we're fourth years," Rai replied elusively as she bit her lip. "But as for my team, the perky redhead over there is Cherry Nereza, and our other two teammates, Tempest and Rama, should be on their way by now."

"Technically?"

"My… well, my first team didn't work out too great," Rai said hesitantly. "And Cherry hasn't been able to unlock her aura — medical complications making it more difficult or whatever — so she's been held back from graduating a couple times. Temp and Ram recently filled up the other two spots."

Mercury arched a brow. "Why were two spots open?"

"Because death happens."

The bluntness of her statement surprised him, and he was surprised that she managed to surprise him. Phew, that thought alone gives headaches.

He blamed Ruby for the small bit of empathy he now retained.

"Sorry you had to go through that."

"Don't be," Rai said in an almost bitter tone. "They weren't the people I thought they were anyway." And then, realizing how callous she sounded, Rai suddenly stuttered, "O-Oh gosh, I, that just sounds horrible, I-I didn't mean it like that—"

"What did you mean by it?" Mercury cut off her fumbling sentence, seeing her take a breath and rearrange her thoughts.

"They were involved in the shadier side of Vacuo. They would take illegally mined dust from what little mining sites there are in Vacuo and ship them to their cousin in Mistral. Then he would sell them to the worst of the worst on the Black Market for a profit." Rai sighed. "When the brothers started reducing the amount of dust in their shipments… well, criminals don't like when they're getting stiffed a product. When I found out, I was shocked, who wouldn't be." She shook her head, tisking at her old teammates. "They were hypocrites in training to protect the very people they were stealing from."

Mercury felt slightly disturbed due to the vague parallels between him and Rai's old teammates. Training to protect, or in his case pretending to, only to have less than honorable intentions. Wolf in sheep's clothing…

"But I shouldn't keep you, nor should I dump things like that on you," Rai continued, unaware of Mercury's inner thoughts. She took the orange juice and hot chocolate from the barista before smiling at him. "See you around campus, Mercury."

Distractedly, Mercury took his and Ruby's drinks while mumbling, "Yeah…"

Pivoting promptly on his heel, he made a beeline back to Ruby, not really thinking of what he was going to reveal to her first. He had planned to mull it over while at the counter, but that girl distracted him. He felt a little relieved to see that the girl, Rai, had ushered her redheaded friend out the door in favor of sitting outside with a woman in a feathery dress and a ram faunus.

"Thanks Mercury." Ruby took the coffee gratefully before casting a curious look to the girl. "Who is she?"

"Rai." Mercury shrugged before taking a seat beside Ruby instead of across. He resisted smirking as Ruby's face immediately flushed when their legs bumped against each other's. "She's from Shade Academy. Why do you ask?" Mercury leant toward Ruby's face slightly. "Possessive of me already, Little Red?"

Ruby spluttered before smacking his arm playfully. "Jerk, who says I even like you?"

"Uh, you did," Mercury said smartly. "Before you left for your mission. Where you fell into a crime nest."

"Sh-Shut up!" Ruby went to hit his arm again, but his hand caught her wrist. She pouted. "Meanie."

"It just feels good to be bad," Mercury teased as he nonchalantly slid an arm around Ruby's shoulder, hugging her to him a moment later and asking playfully, "And despite that, you stick around. You like bad boys, Little Red?"

"I-I hate you…" Ruby frowned, moodily taking a sip of her coffee.

Mercury laughed lowly at that, knowing full well that he was dancing around the real reason he had brought Ruby here. Thinking of telling her was simple, easy. Actually in the moment is a little different. The more he thought about it, the more he realized that he liked this, whatever this is, and he didn't want to scare her away.

"Merc, are you okay?" Ruby questioned, concern brimming in her silver eyes. She always seemed to know when he was battling with himself these days. "You don't have to tell me if you're that torn up about… whatever you were going to tell me."

"No, you… you deserve to know," Mercury insisted, the whispers of his father plaguing his mind. He took a sip of his drink before adding, "I just… don't know where to start."

"How about…" Ruby puzzled silently to herself, silver eyes glancing up at him after a few seconds. "How about you tell me why those people were after me?"

"That… that would require the whole story," Mercury said hesitantly, withdrawing his arm from around her. He refused to look at her curious and worried eyes as he began, "You asked once before about my father. What he did."

Ruby nodded, though he more so felt it against his arm than saw it. "Yes?"

Mercury swallowed thickly, feeling pressure build up in his chest. Eventually, he forced it out, "He was an assassin."

"I… what?" Ruby barely managed to speak, her voice little above a breathy whisper. Mercury closed his eyes.

"He taught me everything he knew. How to fight, survival methods in the wilderness… healing." Mercury grimaced at that. "When I was old enough, he brought me out on his missions. I was… eight? Nine? Something like that. At first, he would just have me shadow him, watch what he did and have me recite his methods to him later, kind of like a test. Then… he started making me do the things he did."

_:Phew, ain't that the sweetest sound around huh?! Come on, Merc, my boy, it's your turn to make 'em scream!:_

"Any hesitation, any mistake, and he'd be on me in seconds."

_:The hell is wrong with you? Hit him! Slice him with that knife I gave you! Make him regret what he's done!:_

"What… what would he do?" Ruby asked with a shaky voice. Mercury tore off one of his rerebraces so she could see the scars again.

"What he does best."

_:I know that I didn't help to create a sniveling coward like you. Come on, Merc-y, wipe away those pathetic tears and listen to Daddy:_

"At first I would resist doing it. But when I grew a bit older, I just went along with it to appease him, to avoid this." Mercury gestured vaguely to his scars. "But it would always be one step farther than before."

_:This time, my boy, we're going for a more… petite target. You're getting to that age now that ladies are starting to look. It's in the genes, haha!:_

"He taught me how to seduce a target, make them lower their walls before striking when they least expect it. That's… well, that's why I acted off after the dance. I… could hear him in my head."

_:Gloves, Merc, remember the gloves, always:_

"Mercury, I know you," Ruby insisted softly. "You wouldn't have hurt me."

"You may have known… but I didn't know," Mercury rebuked without pause, clenching his fist on the tabletop. "I was raised to kill, to be an assassin, and that's what I was. Am."

"You're not—"

"I almost killed Tyrian Slate today, Ruby," Mercury shot back, his chest tightening until a knot the size of a basketball tugged at him. "If it weren't for you jumping in, I wouldn't have stopped. I would've killed Slate, Lynae, Torchwick, and anyone else that got in my way." _And I wouldn't have regretted it._

Ruby shook her head in confusion. "But… you wouldn't have hurt me?"

Mercury nearly choked on his drink, eyes bulging as he whipped his head over to stare at her. He realized then it wasn't a tentative question on her part, one that's secretly implying that Ruby thought he would have, but it was one more like a puzzled statement posed as a question. Mercury gripped her hands tightly.

"Ruby, I will never hurt you," Mercury swore to her, and the conviction in his voice made him almost believe it too. "If… if I hurt you, I wouldn't be able to live with myself."

_I'm already hurting her, but not in the way she was asking…Shut up, conscience. Now's not the time._

"I know." Ruby smiled slightly before it dropped. "I'm just… it's a lot to take in. But… why am I the exception?"

"Because you're the only one that's truly cared," He said truthfully, an endearing gleam shining in his eyes as he gazed at her. "And you're the only one I've truly cared about in a long time."

Ruby gazed up at him for a long moment, nothing but empathy and care shining in her eyes, and Mercury felt that warm and fuzzy feeling worm its way into his gut again as Ruby wrapped her arms around his own arm and laid her cheek on his shoulder. He half expected her to draw away, to run out the café possibly, but here she was, snuggling closer to him.

"So… where was your mom in all this?"

His stomach dropped to his feet. Mom.

"She… she tried to protect me. It didn't work." Mercury sucked in a breath and exhaled harshly. "When… when practicing the aura healing process, someone needs to have a lowered aura or a physical injury." He cast his eyes downward at Ruby's horrified look, having already caught on. "My mother didn't have her aura unlocked."

"…your dad hurt your mom just so you could practice?" Ruby whispered in horror. At Mercury's nod, her eyes watered slightly. "That's… that's horrible."

"It started off as shallow slashes to her arms," Mercury detailed in a detached state, as he normally did when speaking or even thinking of her. "And when I could heal those easily, the cuts got deeper. Once that became easy to heal, the cuts would go to more vital areas. The wrists, the inner thighs, you know, where major arteries are. And then… the neck."

Ruby gasped, and Mercury squeezed his eyes shut. "I couldn't save her."

_:Come on Merc-y, fix her up!… the hell are you doing boy, she's dying, pick up the pace!:_

"Mercury…"

_:How could you let her bleed out like that, you no good, freeloading, sack of—:_

"It's not your fault," Ruby's voice cut through Marcus' roar, the horse, gruff tone of his father echoing from the back of his mind. He focused instead on the small, girlish fingers clutching his arm, and the inviting, comforting scent of strawberries and vanilla wafting to his nose.

"I…could've healed her in time if—"

"No. The only person to blame for that is your father, not you," Ruby insisted, her palm cupping his left cheek and guiding his gaze to her. "You did what you could to save her. She knows you did all you could, just like I do."

Mercury himself didn't believe it, but her words were comforting, and he let himself bask in it for a moment.

"…What were their names?" Ruby spoke.

"Marcus and Pearl." Mercury gripped his drink resting on the table. "After she died, Marcus just kind of… spiraled. I guess he loved her, in his own twisted way, and when I couldn't save her, he took it as defiance on my part. Didn't matter what I did after that. He'd find a reason to add a slash to my collection." His grip tightened on the drink. "Then, one day, he did something…"

_He could hear the saw whirring from the other room—_

"Something that I couldn't just sit and take."

_He burst inside, grinning maliciously, lips stretched wide across his face in a Joker smile, sawdust sticking to his pants and toned arms flexing as he held the bloody saw—_

"What did he do?" Ruby asked.

_"You don't know real pain, my boy!" He sneered, advancing quickly — nowhere to run or hide, not anymore — the machine revved, went sailing in an arc toward his legs, all he could do was watch—_

"I'd… rather not say."

_Blood, blood was everywhere. It sprayed from his legs — stumps they were stumps now — dripping down the walls, flying into his eyes, it hurt, stop it—_

"So I… left." Mercury's jaw tensed as he skipped over the most gratifying part of his childhood. "And I became what Marcus raised me to be. That's how I met Lynae and Slate."

A condensed, vague version of how he met them, but a version nonetheless. His past was stripped bare before her, and a weird, sickly feeling overcame him. He felt exposed, vulnerable, and he had to stop his lip from automatically curling into a sneer.

A pale hand rested overtop his, and it took him a moment to realize he was crushing the paper cup in his grip. He relaxed his grip before releasing it, and Ruby's hand nudged the cup away before threading her fingers through his own.

"I'm… so sorry," Ruby croaked out sadly, though she held in her tears well, brimming atop the creases of her eyes but not spilling. "What… what if he finds you? What will you…?"

"He won't find me," Mercury said frankly, sighing at what he knew he had to say now. "I killed him. Then I met my employer, that lead me to meeting them."

He didn't regret killing him, not one bit. That was the first time he'd ever felt truly in power, a sadistic glee overtaking him as he smashed his new legs into his father's sides, smashing his heel into his crooked nose, watching as his aura flickered away and squirts of blood flying from his wounds.

He remembered with a rush of adrenaline the fight that ensued after Mercury had, in an act of revenge for the loss of his legs, splashed Marcus' booze on every wall of the small house, across the floor, dripping off the counters, and then brought a match to it.

He had intended to watch the fire while standing in the middle of it. He had intended to die in that wretched place, wanted it even.

But then Marcus had arrived home after a job, fury burning in the narrowed slits that were his eyes, slicked back, snow white hair wild as he blindly lunged for his son in a fit of rage. Mercury had reacted with double the intensity, the bandages still bloodied and fresh, his balance still wobbly on the mechanical frames, but his own fury strong and unyielding.

The battle was a blur for him, excitement coursing through him at the time so that his mind was reacting in the moment and discarding bits of the fight due to their not just being time to process the events and file them away. Mercury didn't care though, since he could recall the feeling of euphoria that rushed through him as he finally, finally, caused his own flesh and blood to stumble, go to one knee, remembered vividly how he had wrapped his arms around his neck, twisting and twisting until—

SNAP! The source of his nightmares, gone forever.

And then… crunch crunch crunch on the ground, and hello Cinder. And now, here he is.

Mercury shook the memory away after realizing Ruby had been silent for some time, and he found himself afraid — yes, afraid, it was an odd and unwanted feeling — to even look in her direction. Her hand was still in his, her head on his shoulder, body pressing into his side, but she was still. A dreadful thought that caused his chest to go hollow came to the forefront of his mind.

She's going to run now, isn't she?

But Ruby surprised him somehow, as she always did, because he felt after a moment a dampness soaking into the cloth on his shoulder. He tilted his head to her subtly, eyeing with a hitch in his throat that her face was glistening with tears, and she pressed her lips to the skin just below his jaw tenderly. Her silver eyes flickered up to his dark, corrupted grey ones, and she said hoarsely, "That's… I wish you didn't have to go through that."

"It's gotta happen to someone," Mercury mumbled bitterly, his lip curling upwards in a sneer as a image of Marcus came to his mind with ethereal detail. "There's gotta be some demons in the world."

Ruby drew her eyebrows together as she shook her head at his statement, using her sleeve to wipe at a few tears and sniffing. "You're not a demon." He was surprised that Ruby knew he thought just that, but before he could say anything she went on, "You're strong. To go through that and to draw away from that sort of lifestyle… that takes a lot."

"I didn't draw away from it," Mercury said bitterly, flashes of Cinder and Torchwick, a picture of Slate on the ground with his neck under his boot, zooming to the front of his mind. "I became exactly what he wanted."

"Hmm… nope."

Mercury blinked. "…nope?"

"Nope!" Ruby repeated with an endearing look in her eye.

Mercury couldn't help but roll his eyes. "That's an excellent argument, Ruby."

"I'm serious," Ruby insisted. "You're not exactly what he wanted, because you're trying to get away from it. That alone makes Marcus' efforts fall short. You should be proud, Mercury."

An alien feeling came to him. He felt a burning behind his eyes. What does that mean? Wait a minute, does that mean—

_Oh, I am not going to cry. Screw that._

It felt natural, dipping his head down to press his lips softly against Ruby's. It wasn't like the first kiss he stole. That one was filled with desperation and pent up emotion that demanded release. It was filled with frenzy movements before they became in tune with one another. Now, after the storm, the movement was calmer, softer, and he could really focus on the feel of it, and the soft exhale that Ruby made from the contact.

Once the burning sensation left, Mercury drew back slightly, grinning softly as his hand went up to brush back Ruby's bangs. "You know, I used to enjoy it. Taunting people, hunting them…" Mercury looked down at his lap. "Killing them. But now… after finding someone that actually cares—" Ruby's eyes widened as Mercury risked a glance at her from the corner of his eye. "—the idea of it doesn't sound so enjoyable anymore."

"Mercury… I'm not the only one that cares about you." She brought her hand up to cup his cheek, thumb brushing against the skin just below his eye. "Nyx cares about you. Emerald cares about you. And once my friends realize they don't need to protect me from something like this, they'll care about you too. Blake already has, and since she warned you long before I even realized that I liked you more than a friend, she definitely cares about you. And what you've done doesn't mean that's all that you are. It's what you feel after that makes you you."

"Maybe," Mercury reluctantly agreed. "But you're the only one to make me feel like myself."

_Oum, I sound like an angsty teenager._

Despite the random thought, it warmed Mercury's heart to see how Ruby's face glowed at his admission. She took his arm and draped it around her before scooting closer, wrapping an arm around his abdomen and resting her cheek on his chest. He looked down at the black and red bob of hair before hugging her to him tighter.

"We'll beat them," Ruby whispered, closing her eyes. "I know we will."

Mercury wanted to believe it so bad, but he merely held her closer, a weight off his chest as he basked in the moment.

_A demon with his angel._

* * *

They thought her to be a fool.

Cinder was enraged at the thought, still seething at the talk she had with Neo and Emerald with Mercury suspiciously absent. A success she may have called this event, but she knew. She knew that the Little Rose was not harmed, and she knows who went running to her rescue.

He wasn't to be trusted anymore… but he will not be informed of that fact.

No, she would let this disobedience go, just this once. She knew that Mercury held no fear of death, but she now knows of his fierce protectiveness of the little thorn in her side. To think, he had the gall to jail Slate, nearly kill him—

She had to focus.

Cinder sauntered confidently into the warehouse, lips pulling downward at the realization that she would have to deal directly with Adam to control the White Fang now. That made things more difficult, but he would eventually heed to her demands. It was just time consuming, and time was precious.

Neo's tantrum concerning Torchwick was a rather annoying thing to watch as well.

Manicured nails tapped idly on her scroll, two code names popping out to her. The Storm and the Paralyzer. They will do.

Her glass heels clicked on the cold ground, grunts of the Fang cowering as her golden eyes cast a illuminated look towards them. They busied themselves with work, all but one.

Cinder wiped all emotion from her face as she approached the sneering faunus. The faunus turned her head slightly to glare coldly at whoever was approaching, but those electric blue eyes quickly were wiped of animosity as she realized who was walking towards her.

"Miss Fall! That Little Rosebud—"

"I have heard from Neopolitan." Cinder held up a hand to silence her. "I have also heard of your partner's capture."

Lynae scowled harshly at the ground, her wing bandaged but still dripping specks of blood on the ground. Her cape was absent, leaving her in compression shorts and a blue spaghetti strap top. "Yes… Tyrian was captured. It was Mercury who held him down, ma'am. Neo and Emerald also jumped in to help hold us back, but I think that might have been because of the Beacon Brats that were with them."

"Slate will eventually be returned to us, I promise you," Cinder assured the hawk faunus, knowing of Lynae's strong connection with him. "For now however, we must discuss a new method of action."

"Are we teaching Mercury a lesson still?"

Cinder smirked. "He will not be informed of these altered plans, nor will Neo and Emerald. He has grown close with them. Now, before I give out the details, I must ask that you contact your… associate and her partner."

Lynae perked up at that. "You mean…"

"Activate the two sleepers, Lynae," Cinder said with a smile. "And be sure to inform your younger counterpart and Lake that they will have a different target. However, they may not attack her in any fashion until after the Fall begins, and no attacks can be life threatening. I want her alive."

"Got it, boss," Lynae said dutifully as she typed on her scroll. She glanced at Cinder hopefully then. "…so Rosebud is still mine?"

Cinder nodded. "Once you are properly healed, and after the Vytal Tournament officially commences, you have full reign to hurt our precious Little Red in any way you wish. That includes any of the students, partners… _older sisters._ "

Lynae's lips peeled back to reveal bloodstained teeth and her electric blue eyes glittered.

_"Oh, thank you, Miss Fall. Thank you."_

As Lynae threw her head back to cackle, Cinder smiled with a twisted gleam in her golden eyes.

You may try all you want, but I will force the pieces to fall in my favor.

...


	19. Proud of You

"You better not be lying to me."

_"I assure you, mistress, I speak the truth."_

Lynae tapped her fingers idly on the steel table as she stared at the bright screen before her. On the screen a girl with seafoam eyes and pencil thin, blazing red hair that brushed her shoulders as she swished her head to the side gazed back at her. She was rather pale, much like Lynae, and had black panther ears twitching atop her head from time to time.

The hawk faunus gazed at her coolly, electric blue eyes boring into her softer sea foam. "Well, if you manage to uncover her location, you inform me immediately. Vacuo isn't hard to hide in."

_"As soon as I spot her I will contact you, I assure you,"_ She replied, a neutral expression in place. _"Though I must ask...why do you need the Summer Maiden?"_

"That is none of your concern, Lilith," Lynae snapped coldly, tendrils of bright blue trailing from her eyes. "Salem desires it, and what she desires will be delivered to her. Do you not feel the same?"

_"Of course I feel the same."_ Lilith rolled her eyes at the accusing question. _"It's just curious...Salem's operative, isn't she in possession of Fall Maiden powers, not Summer's?"_

"What her reasons are is not for me to know, even less you," Lynae said stubbornly. "And if that was an attempt to try and weasel out the operative's name, then you failed miserably. Understand that you are barely considered a member of the Fang, Lilith. You're lucky that I am allowing you to take this task. If the branch of the Fang in Vacuo was more...accepting...of Vale's branch, you would not even know of her existence."

_"...I apologize. Your branch of the Fang is quite different from my own. We are more open. But I will not ask again, mistress."_

"Good. Then get back to work." Lynae severed the connection before Lilith could say anything more, and she reclined in her seat. Perhaps she shouldn't have trusted a member of a different Kingdom with this task. Either way, Lynae wouldn't tell her of Cinder or any of her associates, so there was no real danger. And even Ozpin knew of Salem. If she were to tattle, it would change nothing.

Still, Lilith Aeronwen was not to be trusted. Not just yet.

"Urgh…" She rubbed her temple in annoyance, for once not tolerant of the pain that comes with a headache. She frowned at the restlessness she felt, and rose to her feet with determination.

Maybe spilling a little blood of some disloyal Fang's will make her feel better.

* * *

Ruby stood inside the elevator with a bubble of nervousness, knowing what she wanted to say but not sure on how to say it. On the way back to Beacon, Mercury told her more about Lynae and Slate, and Ruby felt the urge to talk to Ozpin about it. She wouldn't name Mercury, of course, but she thought Ozpin should know.

The doors opened, and Ozpin glanced up from his desk.

"Ah, Miss Rose. Please, take a seat." Ozpin motioned to the chair before him with an airy wave as he took a sip of his coffee, and Ruby complied with a nervous tremor in her hands. "I understand you had some trouble at Mountain Glenn with your team, did you not?"

"That would be an understatement," Ruby said with a grim frown, and Ozpin nodded his head with knowledgeable silence, quirking a single brow as he braced his elbows on his desk.

"Yes, I did hear as such from Miss Xiao Long and Doctor Oobleck. But I also heard you had difficulties after reaching Vale. I believe Miss Peridot sent the message to me."

"Yeah, I had some trouble," Ruby replied as she bit her lip, thinking back on what Mercury told her about those two on the way back to Beacon. "Two assassins tried to kill me. They're allied with the White Fang and Torchwick."

"I see," Ozpin said it like he already knew, which he probably did. "James told me that one of them is incarcerated?"

"Yes, Tyrian Slate. Lynae… got away." Ruby cast her eyes to the side as she said this, only to return them to the Headmaster a moment later. "Professor, Torchwick isn't the one leading this crime operation."

"Oh? What lead you to make that claim?" Ozpin sat back in his chair, looking intrigued.

"They told me," Ruby explained. "Lynae and Slate, they were going to kill me… so I guess they didn't care what they said. They said they work with Torchwick, not for. When I said they were working for Torchwick, they kind of looked… amused."

When Ozpin didn't respond right away, Ruby continued, "I know Lynae is a lieutenant for the Fang, but Slate is human; not a part of it. So giving the excuse that Torchwick and them are in a 'joint operation' doesn't add up. And that doesn't explain the fire lady."

"You mean the woman you encountered at the CCT?"

"Yeah. She was at the Breach. Just… watching." Ruby had her eyes lowered, so she didn't see Ozpin tense his hands around the edge of his desk before relaxing slowly. "I couldn't get a look at her face, but she had a red dress on with gold sequins, and glass heels. I-I think I saw a tattoo on her back."

"Could you describe it?" Ozpin questioned.

"It kinda… looked like two heels pressed together to make a heart." Ruby thought back to the brief moments she had to glance at the lady. "I didn't want her to spot me, and I knew I couldn't beat her… so I left her alone."

"A wise choice, Ruby. She seems to be quite the opponent in battle," Ozpin replied praisingly. "Though I must ask, how do you know of Lynae's involvement with the White Fang?"

"A…friend told me," Ruby said haltingly, her lips twisting into a frown as Ozpin seemed to stare right through her. "Er, they aren't with the White Fang or anything though."

"No need to explain, Ruby. I trust you," Ozpin assured her with a slight smile. "And if you trust Mister Black, then I will put my trust in him as well."

Ruby's eyes grew wide as she began to splutter, "W-W-What?! How did you know that?"

"Miss Rose, I am the Headmaster of Beacon but also a Huntsman. A name like Marcus Black does not fade away even after death, and because of that, Mercury is far more well known than he believes he is." Ozpin smiled knowingly as Ruby gaped. "But there is no need to be alarmed. One's past does not define someone, and Mister Black is no exception. Would you agree?"

"Yeah… I do."

"Then I have no reason to confront him about anything. But besides that, after hearing of these assassins, I have thought of some possible failsafes to put in place in concern of not only your safety, but those closely associated to your team and the… meddling of criminal operations." Another knowing look was sent Ruby's way, and she shifted in her seat. "General Ironwood's suggestion was to add guards to the campus, but I thought it to be too…brusque a strategy."

"I agree with you," Ruby said as she wrinkled her nose. Having guards would only set her fellow classmates on edge, and she didn't want them to worry.

"A more preferable way, in my opinion," Ozpin began while sipping from his coffee mug. "Would be alerting some more trusted huntsman teams to this and keeping them on alert. These teams would consist of students that show the most potential, and would be more than willing to keep criminals off campus and away from you."

"I wouldn't want to worry them—"

"Miss Rose, I understand you wish to hold this burden on your shoulders to avoid clouding other's thoughts, but this is not to be taken lightly," Ozpin chided gently, resting his elbows on the table and clasping his hands together. "You are extremely talented for your level of training, but remember that you still have much to learn. Lynae Erin and Tyrian Slate were able to beat you alone, and I do not want to see one of my most prized students be taken from life before their true potential shines."

"…prized student?" Ruby stalled at the term, silver eyes growing even wider as Ozpin nodded once. "You really mean that? Why am I…?"

"Ruby, I do not accept just anyone into my academy, and I certainly do not just accept students into my academy two years early without good reason. You're special. I can see it."

"…How?"

Ozpin merely smiled mysteriously, a misty gleam in his eye. "In due time, Miss Rose, you will see. It will come naturally, one day, and either I or another will be there to help you understand. Now, may we get back to the discussion at hand?"

Ruby blinked to orient herself, and after the burning in her cheeks lessened, she nodded jarringly. To know that Ozpin had more faith in her compared to many students was not only a bolster to her confidence, but brought a feeling of honor that she never truly felt before. It felt… good, almost as good as when Uncle Qrow would praise her during training.

"If we were to go with your idea… what teams would be notified?"

"I have not yet compiled a list, since I would have to collaborate with the other Headmasters, but the first team that comes to mind is Team PNTR. While the team itself was hastily thrown together, Miss Panther is an excellent coordinator and would be more than willing to assist you."

That name again. Ruby recalled how the girl had generously paid for her and Mercury's drinks at the café before meeting her team just outside. She didn't know about her teammates, but Rai seemed kind enough. "I've seen her, but haven't talked to her."

"I'm sure she would be more than willing to introduce herself if given the opportunity," Ozpin proposed with an airy hand gesture.

"I…okay. I want to go with your idea then."

"Very good. I will compile a list of trusting teams and inform them as soon as possible. Now, with that business aside, I believe you came up here with a request in mind?"

"U-Uh… yeah. I just thought that… if you could convince him—" She hastily handed Ozpin a crumpled piece of paper with her request scrawled on it. "—I have questions for him."

Ozpin regarded Ruby with a curious look before pushing his spectacles up his nose and nodding. "If you believe this would prove useful, then I will find a way to grant your request. Be sure to tell me the results."

"Of course."

"If that is all, then you are free to go, Miss Rose. If you wish I can arrange a meeting with Miss Panther later, but we can save that for another time. I'm sure your team is worried about your absence."

Ruby smiled slightly while she stood. "More like anxiously waiting to interrogate me, but yeah."

"Ah. Yes, I can see why. Your sister merely wishes to make sure your very first date went well," Ozpin stated with a slight smirk.

"Seriously, how do you know that?!"

"Miss Xiao Long is not what you define as subtle, as you are well aware," Ozpin replied teasingly, a soft smile on his lips. "Good luck, Ruby."

Ruby made a strangled sound before dragging herself to the door. "Yeah, probably gonna need it…"

Ozpin waited until Ruby made her way into the elevator and watched as the doors closed before turning his gaze expectantly to the figure emerging from behind one of the pillars.

"Glynda wasn't lying. You adore her."

"Once you begin to talk with her, you will find it is hard not to," Ozpin retorted with a small shrug. "Simple souls have a knack for capturing hearts."

"Including the heart of an assassin?" She replied with a disbelieving sneer, one hand cupping her elbow as she paced slowly to the front of Ozpin's desk. "She's been in contact with a lot of questionable people, Professor. Are you certain we shouldn't confront Black?"

"No, if Miss Rose had any problems with him she would have dealt with it accordingly. She may not look it, but she is rather independent when dealing with problems," Ozpin assured her, resting his elbows on the desk again. "She is capable."

"Fine. I'll trust your judgement, but that doesn't mean I trust him. So, when am I going to be properly introduced?"

"Whenever you are ready, Rai. However, it would be better if your entire team was involved—"

"No," Rai said sternly, her gold eye flashing an intense amethyst for a moment. She frowned for a moment, touching the skin below her golden eye before shaking her head and continuing, "The only person I would trust with this is already dead."

Ozpin gazed with pity at her. "If you do not learn to trust these teammates of yours, then I'm afraid it will be your downfall."

"I may not trust them, but I know how to fight with them." Rai took the seat in front of Ozpin's desk, frowning lightly. "And it's not that I think they are questionable in their intentions, they're just… naïve. Cherry is too afraid of everything and would rather sit and play her violin, while Tempest is too invested in…whatever she does on her scroll. And don't get me started on Rama."

"Nevertheless, they are your team—"

"No, Team KRMN is my team." Rai scowled.

"A disbanded one."

"But it was a team, and I didn't ask for a new one. I didn't ask to be transferred to Shade, nor did I ask to be placed as PNTR's leader. I just wanted to find my old leader."

"And you found your leader, eventually. So what is stopping you from accepting your team now?"

"I…don't know," Rai admitted before becoming rigid in her chair. "I just know that when my gut tells me something, I stick to it. With my luck, my teammates will end up accidentally killing each other," Rai said in slight disgust. "And I'm not giving my teammates any information concerning Ruby."

"You're rather protective of her," Ozpin observed.

"How often do you find someone with silver eyes?" Rai retorted.

"Very true… but your team aside, we do need to speak of these new associates of her," Ozpin said gravely. "Have you managed to uncover anything of interest?"

"Not as much as I'd like." Rai rubbed her temple with two of her fingers. "Tyrian Slate is pretty tame in his crimes despite his big talk. Mostly store robberies scattering across Vacuo, Mistral and Vale. Primarily Mistral. Basically wherever he goes, he robs someone eventually. Lynae Erin however, has apparently been in the White Fang for quite a while now. From Mistral as well, I managed to track her down to one of the faunus-dominant villages in the middle of nowhere. A very spiteful village with no love for humans. And she still won't cough up what that woman's name is."

"Disguising as a Fang member not doing so well, I imagine?"

"Normally it's easy," Rai informed. "I already had a ID set up from a while ago, though that's in Vacuo. Location makes the job harder, and Lynae can be… stubborn, when it comes to informing me— er, Lilith I should say, of the faction's plans."

"She must be rather influential in the ranks, I suppose."

"Influential through fear, if what Black said is true. She's pissed now since Slate is locked up, but she was injured during the Breach, in her wing. If I remember right, that should take at least two weeks to heal, and another couple days for the feathers to settle in place again. Or, at least, that's how long it took Nyanza when her dumba— when she managed to get her wing spiked by a Boarbatusk. She should be out of commission for some time."

"She would be back in action around the time the Vytal Tournament starts up then…" Ozpin mused. "That might be a problem."

"I've dealt with worse in Vacuo, Professor. Trust me, I can handle her."

"But we still do not know if there are more assisting Lynae. This enemy fights well from the shadows just the same as conventionally. And it is not a guarantee that it is Miss Rose they will be going after. They could target others."

"Yeah, to get to Ruby. I can keep an eye on her friends, if that's what you're asking, but as long as she's in one piece, I couldn't care less about the others." Rai shrugged carelessly, her eyes shining obvious boredom.

"Miss Grendel…" Ozpin sighed wearily. Rai pursed her lips tightly.

"It's Panther while I'm here, not Grendel," Rai snapped quickly. "And Professor, with all due respect, when fighting a war you have to face the fact that not everyone can be saved," Rai said sagely. "Because of that, you have to focus on your most valued asset in order to fight longer. I know you would rather that not be the case, but she's forcing our hand here."

"I would rather a student not be the one to remind me." Ozpin frowned before clasping his hands. "You have grown much… colder over the months."

Rai downcast her eyes, glaring holes into the floor. "Well considering I've… discovered… much over the months, is it really a surprise?" Then, not letting him answer the rhetorical question, she asked, "Has Qrow tried to contact you at all?"

"Once, but the message was brief. 'Queen has pawns'."

"Well that information is rather outdated." Rai leant back in her chair. "Have any idea when he'll return?"

"Not in the slightest, but I'll be sure to inform you as soon as I find out," Ozpin assured the girl.

"Thanks… I certainly can't handle any more lectures from Ironwood alone anymore." Rai rolled her eyes. "That man is making everything worse."

"We share different views than him, it is only natural."

"But still, this whole show of a big defensive line is just giving civilians more to wonder about," Rai stubbornly persisted. "It won't help with calming the public. And it won't help her."

"My hands are tied, Rai. The Council is against me on this."

"I know, it's just— Qrow needs to get back soon before I end up decking the guy."

Ozpin quirked an amused brow. "So he could do it for you?"

Rai managed a weak smirk. "Exactly."

She stood slowly, fixing her fedora and fluffing out her short hair. Her hands ghosted over the folded fans on either hip, an unconscious gesture she'd picked up not long after KRMN was dissolved, and began to walk to the elevator. Ozpin frowned at her behavior.

"I will call you up later to meet with Miss Rose, if that works for you."

"Just make sure it's after my evening class. Tempest and Rama have a class right after and Cherry should be out in the courtyard by then, so they won't notice I'm gone."

"And we will also have time to discuss you and your team more in detail after this meeting," Ozpin added with a silent demand. Rai sighed.

"Of course, Professor."

* * *

Ruby was dreading what was waiting her on the other side of the door.

In hindsight, it probably wasn't a good idea to delay the inevitable and go to speak with Ozpin before returning to her dorm to face the 'date talk' that her team was anxiously waiting to commence. Now it was late in the day, she was extremely tired, and extremely not ready for whatever protective comments were to be thrown her way.

_What if Yang suspects something? She'll jump to conclusions, think something happened, and then she'll go all Momma Yang and hunt Mercury down and and and—_

"Oh, hello Ruby!"

"AGH WE JUST TALKED!" Ruby screeched as she flailed her limbs wildly, her body tilting dangerously until gravity started to pull her to the ground. A force gripped Crescent Rose on her back, and her weapon alone stopped her from falling backwards. "Huh?"

Ruby looked around to see Pyrrha smiling a little smugly, her arm outstretched and a distorted field encompassing her hand. She realized a moment later that Pyrrha gripped her weapon with her semblance, thus saving her from an graceless fall to the floor.

"Oh, uh, thanks Pyrrha." Ruby hurriedly stood on her own, and Pyrrha released her weapon from the magnetic hold. "What are you doing out here?"

"Actually I was just heading to your dorm," Pyrrha said happily, a bright smile on her face. "I was planning to await your return with the rest of your team. Ren and Nora are already with them."

"Oh… they're… all in there?" Ruby gulped audibly. "Yay…"

Pyrrha's kind smile morphed into a concerned frown, emerald eyes dimming at Ruby's off mood. "Ruby, is something wrong? Did the date not go well?"

"Oh, no no, it went fine!" Ruby quickly corrected, nervousness bubbling in her gut. "I just… Yang only just accepted Mercury as a friend to stay. I know she acted okay when she saw us… uhm…" Ruby turned bright red. "But what if she was faking to not make a scene or something?"

"Ruby…"

"What if she played along just to plot something to scare Mercury? Or, or worse, she played along to only call Dad and she gave him Mercury's room number and he's there right now going full 'Taiyang Smash Mode' and then-"

"Ruby!" Pyrrha seized Ruby's shoulder's to stop her from rambling, her emerald eyes soothing and soft. "Just breathe for a moment. Think about what you're saying. You know that Yang only acts if it benefits you and makes you happy, and Yang knows that Mercury makes you happy. She wouldn't lie just to go behind your back and ruin it for you."

"I...I know," Ruby said dejectedly, visibly deflating. "It's just, now that we're actually… y'know… dating…" Ruby whispered it like it was a treacherous secret, and Pyrrha hid her amusement. "I can't help but think about it…"

"Ruby, you and I know that Yang is not the secret keeping type," Pyrrha began with a kind smile. "If she has any problems with someone, she'll face it head on. Yang may not like the idea of her little sister dating, but she trusts Mercury enough to give her approval."

"Yeah...Thanks Pyrrha." Ruby smiled gratefully at the warrior, much calmer after Pyrrha's words of wisdom were processed. Ruby looked back at her dorm before turning back and asking, "So, if Nora and Ren are in there already, then where's Jaune?"

Pyrrha's faced suddenly morphed from warm and almost parental pride to one of urgency. "Oh, uhm, yes! Jaune should be out in a minute but I must warn you that he—"

"RUBY!" Team JNPR's dorm burst open to reveal a wide eyed Jaune, and Ruby looked at him in confusion as he sped toward her and forced her into a bone-crushing hug.

"Urgh...J-Jaune...can't breathe…"

"O-Oh, sorry!" Jaune quickly released her and Ruby gasped for breath.

"Jeez, Vomit Boy, that was almost as painful as Yang's bear hugs!" Ruby exclaimed, smiling a bit at her own joke. Jaune didn't laugh, and instead ignored it.

"You went on a date and didn't even tell me?!" Jaune exclaimed, and Ruby cocked a brow at how...girlish the statement sounded. Though, considering he had seven sisters, it really shouldn't be a surprise that he picked up a few things from them.

"Uhh...yeah?"

Jaune made a strangled, spluttering noise as he gazed at her in distress. "Wha— if my best friend is going out with a guy I need to know about it!"

"As opposed to your best friend going out with a girl?" Ruby joked.

_"Ruby."_

She giggled at his annoyed look, and after her laughter, Jaune's face fought between light amusement and the composed look he had moments before.

"Okay okay, I'm sorry," Ruby said placatingly, still smiling, though it turned sheepish. "But… it went well. I… I really like him."

"Good, because if it didn't go well and he hurt you I would've—" Jaune stopped himself from saying 'beat him up' when Pyrrha and Ruby both stared flatly at him. "—would've had strong words with him!"

"Oh no, please Jaune, you're worse than Yang," Ruby replied monotonously, only to laugh again when Jaune made a noise of protest and pulled her into his side by her shoulders just to ruffle her hair. "Stop it, Vomit Boy!"

"Yeah? Make me, Crater Fa— woah!" Jaune was pulled up and into the air as Pyrrha gripped his armor with her semblance, and he shot an accusing look at her. "You're supposed to be on my side!"

"Nuh-uh! Girl power!" Ruby struck a dramatic pose as Pyrrha laughed at the duo.

"Alright, I think we should head inside now, should we not?" Pyrrha suggested as she deactivated her semblance and helped Jaune to his feet. Ruby felt nervousness build in her gut again, and she bit her lower lip as she turned to her dorm.

"Yeah… okay." She took a breath and placed her hand on the doorknob. _Now or never._

The door swung open, but she wasn't met with the anxious faces of her teammates, all of them shoving and pushing their way to get to her first. What she walked into was more somber than anything, and the first thing she noticed was the soft smiles directed at her from Weiss and Blake while Yang gazed out the window, her hands braced on the sill.

"Hey Ruby!" Nora chattered suddenly from the desk shoved into the corner. She was half hanging off of Ren as her bright eyes wandered around the room happily. "Everything go okay?"

Ruby nodded with a weak smile, though worry clouded her as Yang still hadn't turned. Either Jaune or Pyrrha pushed her farther into the dorm, and she reluctantly shuffled in. She would have to face this sooner or later, and Ruby approached the blonde mane in front of her as she extended a tentative hand.

"Yang...I know you might not like me dating, b-but, I think that I—"

She cut herself off abruptly with wide eyes as Yang turned around and engulfed her in a big hug so fast she could barely register it. Warmth radiated from Yang like sunshine, just as she always did, and much to Ruby's shock, she felt water soak through the fabric on her shoulder.

"Ruby," Yang choked out. "I am so… so proud of you. I keep thinking you're that little girl I'd read stories to before bed… but you keep growing up, and…"

A smile bloomed across Ruby's face, all worries washing away in favor of that loved, fuzzy feeling filling the vacated space. She wrapped her arms around Yang to return the embrace, and said quietly. "I love you."

Yang's response was a watery chuckle. "I love you too, little sis."

* * *

_{Thief: Hey, what's the hold up?}_

_{Thief: Hello-oooo?}_

_{Thief: ...are you dead or not?}_

_{Thief: You would tell me if you're dead, right? Should I get out the confetti?}_

_{Thief: Mercury, where the hell are you?}_

_{Butcher: On my way, calm down}_

_{Butcher: What's got you so wound up?}_

_{Thief: Well, how about YOU try to deal with a depressed psychopath ice cream girl who's sulking on her bed and takes a swing at you whenever you get to close?}_

_{Butcher: ...well, shit}_

_{Thief: Yeah. Exactly. I need backup.}_

_{Butcher: You can wait. Give me fifteen minutes}_

_{Thief: wtf WHY I'm in danger of being stabbed with a parasol!}_

_{Butcher: I have an idea to cheer her up, but I gotta make a detour. Try not to die}_

* * *

Emerald was about to explode in an odd mixture of anger and anxiety. She paced in a tight circle in front of the door, crimson eyes peeking at Neopolitan at time to time, who was pouting with a crumpled expression as she aggressively stabbed her pillow with the blade normally concealed in her parasol. Emerald was certain that, the next time she strayed too close to Neo's bed, she wouldn't be able to dodge the blade.

Where the hell was he? Emerald had half a mind to run out the door and hunt down Mercury herself. She had no clue how to deal with a depressed Neo, and while Mercury probably didn't have a clue how to either, he still knew her better. I think I just have to accept that I'm going to die today. Lovely.

She jumped when she heard the doorknob turn, and had to dodge out of the way to avoid being hit by the door as Mercury barged in. She went to glare at him only to stop and stare for a moment… and then cover her mouth to avoid laughing hysterically.

"Say anything and I'll kill you," Mercury hissed, a dark look crossing his eyes, though all intimidation was lost when taking in the sight of bright pink pastry boxes under each arm and the obnoxious orange chef apron worn overtop his regular black and grey attire. There was a picture embedded into the apron, an old one from when Emerald and Mercury decided to draw all over Roman's face as he slept half overtop his blueprints and half off the table entirely. When he woke up, he was not happy.

And, to top it all off, atop his messy silver hair was a bowler hat similar to Roman's own, but instead of a red strip of cloth, it was a pale pink, and the feather was a mixture of white and brown.

"W-W-What are you wearing?!" Emerald practically squealed, doubling over as she tried to keep her laughter silent. Mercury growled in annoyance.

"I am trying to be a good friend… for once." Mercury shrugged before turning and bee lining it to the murderous ice cream girl.

Emerald watched anxiously as Mercury approached Neo, and he effortlessly deflected the blade blindly being swung his way with a pastry box. He unceremoniously dumped said boxes on Neo's bed a moment later, and placed his hands casually on his hips as mismatched eyes glanced up in barely restrained annoyance… that is, before she saw what he was wearing, just as Emerald did.

And by the Twin Brothers of Remnant, Emerald's jaw dropped as Neo, in all her glory, giggled. Not that heaving, silent laugh she did like normal, or that malicious little smile she hid behind her hand at times, but an actual, bubbly squeak came tumbling forcefully out of her throat, and Emerald would be lying if she didn't say it was by far the cutest thing ever.

She could tell Mercury was just as surprised, but they merely watched as Neo fell on her back and curled her arms around her torso, making breathy little squeaks as she laughed to her heart's desire and rolled childishly back and forth on her bed. Emerald had her scroll out and recording in seconds, and Mercury made a dramatic scoff to play his part.

"And here I thought I was going to treat my fellow psycho to some ice cream cake, but if you're going to just laugh…"

Neo quickly sat up again with wide eyes and gaping mouth, and dug into the boxes to see its contents. Curious, Emerald walked over as well to peer inside. One of the cakes was a bright orange while the other was divided predictably in three flavors of ice cream, making it neapolitan. On the orange cake, in black icing was Torchwick's emblem.

The look on Neo's face was priceless, and Emerald grinned.

_:Nice job, Merc:_

Mercury smiled.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> In case you didn't catch it, Rai disguises herself as Lilith Aeronwen to try and get information. She mentions it her conversation with Ozpin, but some people on FF thought Lilith was a new character so I wanted to mention it :)


	20. The Request, Nicknames

"I really wish we didn't meet like this, you know."

Ruby laughed slightly, but she understood. Where they were… wasn't the most ideal meeting place.

"I'm glad that Professor Ozpin managed to convince you to help me with this though," Ruby mentioned gratefully, shooting a look at her companion. "I can't exactly ask my team, so… thanks."

"Ruby… Ozpin didn't need to convince me of anything. After hearing about your situation, what you went through… well, why wouldn't I help you?"

"I… thanks, Rai." Ruby smiled up at the heterochromic girl. "It's just— I don't think my friends would understand why I feel the need to do this… so it's easier, I guess."

"You don't have to justify anything to me, I get it." Rai placed a hand on Ruby's shoulder with an understanding look in her eyes. "It's not always bad to have secrets… at least, for a while. Granted, if you are to my extreme of secrecy concerning my actions towards Team PNTR, you probably shouldn't keep secrets, but I can tell you're a smart girl. You'll know when to spill."

"You don't tell your team things?" Ruby questioned confusedly.

"I don't tell my team everything, I should say," Rai replied with a hesitant look. "You see, my team is still new. We were formed… maybe four months ago? I just don't trust them enough to tell them everything. My old team...we fell apart before I could say anything."

"Oh. Well, at least you were given a second chance to pursue your dream. Losing a team can't be easy, so still going for it shows a lot about you."

"Sometimes things aren't that cut and dry, Ruby." Rai shook her head. "But we're not here to talk about the past. Come on, General Ironwood should be through here."

Rai lead Ruby to a set of sliding doors with a rounded archway, and Ruby felt nervousness build in her gut. She knew she wanted to do this, but the longer she thought about it, the more doubtful of herself she became. Having someone around like Rai to encourage her helped a little, but whenever silence fell between them, it was deafening.

It was an alien feeling, to be so secretive and closed off. She didn't want to tell her team, not just yet, because she didn't want to worry them. The knowledge that she was attacked by assassins is more than enough to make them fret over her, so if she told them about that fire lady and what she planned on doing now, it would definitely ensure she wouldn't find a moment alone for the next decade at least.

The door snapped open with a hiss of air, and Rai stepped through with a confident strut. Ruby trailed after, silver eyes taking in the high windows and the tannish walls. In the middle of the small room stood General Ironwood, calmly gazing at them with his cold blue eyes and his hands clasped behind his back.

"Miss Panther? I only expected Miss Rose to be present today." Ruby couldn't figure out why, but Ironwood seemed almost...annoyed, to say the least, at her presence.

"Ruby wanted to have someone with her," Rai replied with equal hostility, but it was executed so subtly Ruby could barely catch it.

"I can understand that...however, I must ask that there only be one visitor at a time. I don't want to risk anything when it comes to Roman Torchwick."

Rai looked slightly angered at that fact, but in the end relented and turned her mismatched gaze to Ruby. "Well, looks like you'll have to go on your own, Ruby. I'll stay here and wait for you to come back out."

The bundle of nerves practically exploded in her gut then, and Ruby nodded shakily. "O-Okay."

The older girl saw her discomfort, and smiled warmly at her. "Don't worry, the guards here are on alert at all times and are even more so around Torchwick. You have nothing to fear of him now."

_It's not Torchwick I fear._ Ruby thought, but didn't let it show on her face. Ironwood was gesturing to a door opposite to the one she entered, and Ruby wordlessly began to walk to it.

Lowly so Ruby couldn't hear, Ironwood addressed Rai, "Are you certain this is a good idea? I personally wouldn't let any students near that murderer."

"For one, he's not a murderer. Or, at the very least, we don't have any victims to blame him for." Rai crossed her arms. "And two, do you have a better idea? We need to find out who the attacker of Autumn is, and if Ruby thinks she might be able to find information through Torchwick, then we have to try it."

Ironwood sighed, turning to the door and beginning to walk towards it. "You know he won't say anything."

"I don't know anything. You don't either." Rai glared at his back, watching as he lead Ruby out the door to the cells.

* * *

"His cell is the third to last, Miss Rose." Ironwood gestured down the line of egg-shaped doors, and Ruby cocked her head and frowned.

"Is this one empty?" Ruby pointed to the one closest to her, and when Ironwood nodded, she tapped the panel.

The door snapped open to reveal a cramped cell with barely enough room to even fit someone her size within. It only consisted of a seat carved out of metal that was a part of the wall, and about a square foot of room to place her feet. Ruby blinked, turning to General Ironwood quickly.

"Aren't these cells a little small?"

"All extremely dangerous criminals go in these cells, Miss Rose. There's enough room for them."

"Barely…" Ruby mumbled. "Don't you think it's a little cruel to stuff people in these little cubes?"

Ironwood clasped his hands behind his back, a patient aura about him as he responded, "It may be a little small, but it's big enough to live in. We can't risk anything with criminals like Roman Torchwick."

"But still… there isn't even a toilet," Ruby continued, turning to him as the door slid closed. "It's inhumane."

Ironwood sighed before placing a hand on Ruby's shoulder. "Ruby, I understand your concern, but there isn't much I can do about it. Yes, these cells are small, but this is standard for military ships. Once we travel back to Atlas, Torchwick will be given better quarters than these cells currently, if that eases your conscience."

"It does a little." Ruby pursed her lips as her eyes landed on the third to last cell. Torchwick's cell. "But… can I speak to him somewhere else? Maybe move him to an empty room?" At Ironwood's unsure look, Ruby added, "I don't feel comfortable talking to him in that cell, and it won't feel like I'm talking down to him if we're at the same level, you know?"

"You...have a point," Ironwood relented. "Alright then. Soldier, take Miss Rose to the conference room. Have a guard stationed outside the door while she and the prisoner are inside." Ruby watched the soldier clad in blue and grey walk towards her as Ironwood addressed her, "I will be along with Torchwick shortly."

"Thank you." Ruby smiled before turning and following the soldier to one of the empty rooms. He opened the door to let her inside and set up two chairs on either side of a glass table, and she sat in the chair facing toward the door.

"The prisoner should be here shortly, ma'am. If you need anything, I'll be right outside," The soldier said cordially.

"Thanks."

As the Atlas soldier slipped out of the room, Ruby let out a slow breath before fiddling with the emblem clipped to the waistband of her jeans. She could hear two pairs of footsteps coming down the hall, could hear the muffled voices of Ironwood and Torchwick, and she squeezed her eyes shut before opening them with a neutral look.

She felt heartless, trying to manipulate a man who has been cooped up all this time into giving her information. She knew it was silly, he was a criminal after all, but she still felt bad. Ruby tried to justify her visit by telling herself she wanted to check on him, which wasn't entirely untrue. A criminal he might be, but he was still human and criminal's need someone checking in on them once in awhile too.

Ruby scoffed quietly. _Yeah, like Torchwick would want me of all people to check on him._

"Please just slip up and give me a lead to go on," Ruby whispered to herself as the door creaked open.

* * *

"Now General, while I do love a nice stroll, would you mind telling me where we're going?" Roman asked as he was roughly pushed forward by Ironwood. It was nice to get out of that cramped cell to stretch his back, that had more than a few kinks from being hunched over for so long, but he was slightly concerned as to what was waiting for him at the end of their little walk.

"You're going to talk to someone." Ironwood's expression betrayed nothing. "You have a visitor."

"Ah. It's not a conjugal visit, is it?"

"No!" Ironwood bellowed angrily. "It's a student. A girl."

Torchwick frowned in contemplation. It could be Neo. She was more often than not skipping around Beacon posing as a Haven student. What was her alias again? Nyx Peridot, he believed. Well, if it was Neo, at the very least he could get some explanation as to why Cinder decided to send him to jail.

But before that, he couldn't help but be a smartass.

"Eugh, I thought you had better morals, James. I may be a criminal, but not even I would take advantage of a minor." Torchwick resisted grinning as Ironwood's grip tightened on his arm. "That's just sickening, General."

"It would be smart of you to stop joking and start taking your current predicament seriously," Ironwood suggested with a harsh frown just outside a room guarded by a lone soldier. Roman assumed this was where his visitor was. "Remember, you are under my supervision and command on this ship, and only I can allow your release, if you ever will be."

"Tch."

Roman might not like being under Cinder's thumb, but oh will he be giddy when she decides to roast this jackass.

"If he tries anything, shoot him." The General pretended the criminal no longer existed as he addressed the guard.

"Friendly bunch," Torchwick murmured with a slight lit in his voice, keeping that airy tone that absolutely drove the General insane. The less he cared, the more Ironwood got frustrated, and Roman was aiming to get all of that hair grey before he busted out.

Ironwood looked like his head was about to explode as he roughly gripped Torchwick's shoulder again and wrenched the door open. "Once you're in that room, Miss Rose and only Miss Rose will decide when this visit is finished. Try anything funny, or get up from your seat, and the guard will…greet you."

"Miss Rose? How lovely." Torchwick smirked at the man as he pushed him inside the room. "Well well, hello there—" He turned his head, and his brain suddenly was knocked off kilter as he saw who was sitting on the other side of the table. The door slammed shut behind him.

"…Red."

"…hi."

Well this is surprising.

The reason for his capture was sitting on the opposite side of the gleaming grey table, silver eyes glancing up at him with what he assumed was a meekness, or possibly wariness, he wasn't sure, and red and black hair slightly messy from the howling wind outside. He stared at her blankly as she fiddled with the ends of her wool red sweater with gloved fingertips, dumbfounded as to why she would be here of all people.

"Aren't you going to sit down…?"

The unsure question knocked him of his shocked stupor, and slowly pulled the chair backwards before stepping around and sitting, placing his gloved hands— that were still cuffed, he must mention —on the table. Red frowned at his hands but said nothing.

"So Red, not that I'm not flattered by the little visit, but what do you wish to gain here?" Roman cut to the chase at once while still keeping that carefree aura of his, and his lips curved into a sly smile as Red pouted.

"Well one: my name isn't Red," She sassed, the tension thick in the air as they both tried to figure out the angles of the other. Roman arched a brow in expectation, and Red sighed. "It's Ruby… Ruby Rose."

Ah. Right. He thought he remembered Mercury mentioning her name the day he first met her. "Hmph. I wasn't far off with Red now was I?"

"It's still unoriginal!" Red — Ruby, he supposed — fumed. "Like, it's just like if I started calling you Orange."

Roman frowned, unamused at the impulsive nickname. "Is there a reason you're here, or not?"

Ruby shrank in her chair a bit, like she knew what she was here for and now, facing him, she couldn't find the right way to approach it. Roman would have found it amusing at any other time, but with the combination of his incarceration, Ironwood breathing down his neck, and the ache in his back from being crammed in a tiny cell, he was running out of patience.

The girl went to speak before her eyes narrowed, but she wasn't looking at him. She was more looking above his head, and she murmured more so to herself than him, "Where's your bowler hat?"

"Ah yes, my hat." Roman rolled his eyes at the ridiculousness of this visit. "Well Red—"

"Ruby."

"— _Red_." Torchwick scowled at her before adjusting his scarf with his cuffed hands. "After you helped throw me in here—" he watched her flinch slightly, which surprised him. "—The lovely General and his cronies decided to rid me of my hat and cane."

"Oh…" Ruby pursed her lips as her eyes strayed to the side, and Roman drummed his fingers on the table. Her eyes gravitated to the metal binding his wrists, before she examined the lock system with narrowed eyes.

"Uh…Red? What're you— whoa, uh…" Ruby pressed her thumbs into the release buttons on each side before using her pointer fingers to pull the small levers back, and within seconds his wrists were free and the cuffs in her grasp. "…oookay?"

"They looked uncomfortable," Ruby said with a shrug while flipping the cuffs over in her hands. "I've never seen these sort of handcuffs before. Don't they normally need a key to open them?"

"Why are you asking me?"

Ruby stared blankly. "Because you're a criminal."

"Sweetheart, just because I'm a criminal doesn't mean I get caught."

An arched brow and a pointed look to the entirety of the room around them was her response. Roman sighed.

"…yes, normally they require a key. I assume that on these military ships where the inmates never see each other, there is no need for a 'master key' if you will. Much easier for processing."

"Oh… hold on a second."

Ruby got up from her chair and hurried around the table to the door, peeking outside slightly and initiating a hushed conversation with the soldier posted outside. Roman had to roll his eyes at Ruby's naïveté. He could have easily grabbed her, used the handcuffs as a weapon to hold to her throat, and threatened his way out of here. The only thing holding him back was Cinder, and if she put him in here, she demands that he stay until said otherwise.

"Done gossiping about me, Red?" Roman questioned dryly as Ruby returned to her seat.

She gave him a disapproving look. "I… had some questions for you."

"Of course you do," Roman spoke as he released a large gust of air from his lungs. His visible green eye rolled before settling on her. "Look Red, while I'm very aware of your hero complex, I'm not going to give you the answers to stop all crime in Vale."

His harsh yet somehow still teasing tone didn't phase her in the slightest, and he couldn't help but be surprised by it. In his encounters with her, Roman assumed that her innocent self would shine in all aspects of her character, but she was being surprisingly… _mature_ in this.

"I'm still asking them." Ruby shrugged. "And if it makes you feel any better you can ask me stuff just to keep things even."

Roman quirkier a brow at that. Back and forth questioning? That was a new one, but not entirely unwelcome one. It's not like he was going to be honest in his answers anyway, so why not entertain himself by pestering the girl through some questions?

"…Alright then, Red, you have a deal. Hit me with one."

Ruby blinked, looking surprised that he actually went along with it. She recovered quickly however, and began to speak, "How did you convince the White Fang to help you?"

Roman narrowed his eyes at the simplicity of the question. He could say anything and she'd have no clue if he told the truth, and in truth, he wasn't even informed that they were working with the White Fang until Cinder showed up with them one day. He hid any thoughts however, and answered vaguely, "Intimidation, like how I do most things. Did Kitty Cat set you up to that one?"

" _Blake_ didn't," Ruby stressed her teammates name, but Roman made an uninterested noise in the back of his throat. "Actually, uh, she doesn't know about this at all… none of my team does."

"Ooh, snuck off to see me by yourself Red?" Roman teased as Ruby flushed red in childish anger. "How rebellious of you. Anyone outside of your team know, or am I just that special?"

"I-I told people!" Ruby squeaked. "People that are very willing to hurt you i-if you try anything funny! I also told Scarlet, but y'know, he was too busy trying to stop Nyx from scaling the Beacon Tower— o-oh, wait, that was two questions!"

"Ah, too late Red, you answered and now it's your turn." Roman smirked at the pouting girl, while an amusing picture of Neo dressed up as a student scaling the tower with that manic grin on her face. He's definitely got to talk to Neo about _that_ little journey.

"Grr… fine." Ruby shook her head before drumming her fingers on the table, mulling over her next question. "So…Lynae Erin and Tyrian Slate."

"…yes?" Roman prompted.

Ruby pursed her lips before asking, "Who do they work for?"

"Uh…me?" Roman said with a surprised chuckle. "Geez Red, this is a—"

"You're lying."

Roman's laughter abruptly stopped as she called him out, and he fixed his blank look on her. "And what makes you think that?"

"When they first cornered me, I said just that. 'You're working for Torchwick'," Ruby quoted with perfect clarity. "And Lynae, she said that wasn't true. She said—" Ruby leaned forward slightly, bracing her elbows on the edge of the table "—with. Lynae and Slate work with you. And the thing is, I saw the inside of Lynae's cape. I know she works for the White Fang. But you order the White Fang around. So it doesn't add up."

"Those goons will say anything to try and make themselves equal to me," Roman rebuked quickly, wondering what this girl's angle is. "I wouldn't take the word of a White Fang Grunt."

"Actually she's a Lieutenant," Ruby corrected, causing Roman to feel some wariness build within him. "And if that is the case, then explain Slate. He's not with the White Fang."

"And how do you know that, Red?"

"You haven't answered my question yet." Ruby smiled smugly as she said this.

"Well, it's my word against another delinquent's." Roman shrugged. "They work for me."

"…Who do you work for?"

"No, it's my turn to question you," Roman said cuttingly, a scowl curling at his lips. "Who told you about Lynae being a Lieutenant?"

"A friend of mine," Ruby answered quickly. "He knows her. Is— was her friend, or acquaintance I should say. He said she doesn't have friends because she's too closed off."

A friend, huh? Roman thought hard on who it might be, but couldn't come up with anyone besides the Kitty Cat of her team. But then again, Ruby said he. It couldn't be her. So who was it that talked?

It couldn't be… Mercury, right? Roman highly doubted it, but that's the only he he could think of.

"His name?" Torchwick pressed.

Ruby shook her head. "Who do you work for?"

"Me, myself and I. Now tell me."

Ruby scowled, but must have thought it wasn't harmful if he did know, because she said a moment later, "His name is Mercury. He's here for the tournament."

_The hell…?_

Roman couldn't believe it. Why would Mercury of all people reveal to the student most involved in their plans something like that? He would have expected Mercury to kick her skull in rather than entertain her like that.

"Are you afraid?" Ruby knocked him of his musings. "Is that it?"

Roman furrowed his brows. "Excuse me?"

"Are you afraid?" Ruby repeated, continuing at his confused look, "Are you afraid of them, the people you work for?"

"I'm not working—"

"I'm not dumb, Torchwick," Ruby said sadly, looking at him with almost pitying eyes. He sneered at the look, and she looked at her hands. "I just thought that since someone is telling you what to do, you're not as bad of a person as the media makes you out to be."

Roman gaped at her. "What the fu—"

"So since I know someone is controlling all of this and not you, I'm going to figure out who with or without your help," Ruby cut him off quickly as she glanced upward again, a determined look in her eyes. "And I think I know who, but I just don't know her name."

_What in the fuck is going on?!_

"The fire lady, what's her name?" Ruby then asked, a fire in her eyes as her face was set with chilling intensity. She whipped out her scroll and showed him a blurry photograph of Cinder, eyes glowing ominously behind a black glass mask. Roman tried not to tense up. "The woman that was with you at the heist, when you first saw me, who is she?"

"What does her name matter?" Roman chuckled nervously. "She's just a pawn anyway, she's not impor—"

"Yes she is!" Ruby stood up suddenly with a distressed look on her face, pacing back and forth. "I saw her during the Breach, just watching, and, and she was up in the CCT during the dance doing something and I don't know if I stopped her in time! Torchwick, I know she's powerful, I fought her briefly before, but if we know who she is, we can stop her from getting to you and we'll be able to stop everyone else from getting hurt!"

Roman had no clue how to respond. Little Red figured it out, out of all people, she had figured it out and she just needs that last piece to the puzzle, and she was pleading for him to provide it. But he knew Cinder well, too well, and he knew the moment he uttered her name, he would be toast. He wanted out of her control, but what Ruby was suggesting was just suicidal.

"I work for _no one_ , Little Red," Torchwick yelled suddenly, a sudden paranoia overcoming him that he was being watched by the witch herself. "And I never will work for anyone. Now if you don't mind, if you have no more questions would you kindly _let me leave?_ "

Ruby wilted slightly at Roman's angered expression, and she threw herself back into her chair defiantly as Roman's lip curled up in a snarl. She didn't look annoyed at him, just solemn. "Alright. Ask me."

Roman arched a brow in confusion. "Ask you…?"

"You still didn't ask me your last question."

This was certainly one of the more unorthodox interrogation sessions he was ever a part of, and he didn't bother to hide the large quantity of annoyance he felt towards the girl. Her expression didn't change at his hostile look, and he sighed before asking of his last question, "Why are you so set on this idea of having me assist you?"

Ruby made a half-hearted shrug before saying, "After confronting the assassins, I haven't been sure of what you are in all this. At first, I thought you were the mastermind behind it all, and you were just this evil man that didn't consider doing what's right." Ruby linked her fingers together nervously. "But now… you're looking more like the fall guy. And I don't think you're that evil anymore."

"Aw, not intimidated by me anymore? I should feel insulted," Roman mocked, his defenses raising in precaution.

She merely stared at him sadly. "You remind me of my friend. He ran away from his dad after putting up with his abuse for so long, and he turned to the same crime his dad was an expert in… he became an assassin. And he told me that he didn't care about other people, only cared about finding entertainment in annoying them, toying with them… sometimes killing them."

_Wait… she wasn't talking about—_

"And then he met me, and he started to feel like himself again." Ruby was smiling dazedly as she said this, and Roman resembled a gaping fish for a moment before snapping his jaw shut with a clatter of teeth. She turned her eyes back to him. "He wasn't bad. He was lost, and he needed someone to help him find himself. It took me a while, but… I see it in you. I thought maybe… I could help you too."

"Tch." Roman rolled his eyes before leaning back in his seat, grimacing as he processed her little speech. "Well, I'm not a charity case Red, and I don't need any help. I, for one, enjoy what I do."

"Yeah? You could have gotten out of here by grabbing me when I went to talk with the Atlas soldier. I knew that, and you probably thought I was an idiot for uncuffing you and doing that a moment later. But you didn't take advantage of that, and you're still here. So, what's keeping you here?" Ruby cocked her head to the side. "What are you running from?"

_For the love of— what is with this girl?!_

At his tense silence she stood, neglecting slapping the cuffs back on him and instead flipping them over in her hand before shoving them in the pouch on her belt. She stopped beside his chair and waited for him to robotically look over at her.

"You're not as bad as they say you are, I can tell. And even criminals need someone to care. Just like my friend." He heard the door swing open, but he kept his eyes on her as she smiled over at the soldier that entered and took something from him. She looked back at him before holding up the object in her hand with a slight, hopeful smile.

"You don't look like you without it," Ruby offered as an explanation as she set his bowler hat on the table. "Bye Torchwick."

And she was gone.

Roman glared heatedly at his hat sitting innocently on the table, and his lips curled back to show his teeth before he growled lowly to himself, "Stupid kid."

He put his bowler hat on.

* * *

_…A Few Days Later…_

She was in over her head.

Ruby squirmed under the body pressing down on hers, her back against a solid surface and her wrists pinned above her head, held tight by one gloved hand. Hot breath tickled the side of her neck each time the person above her exhaled, and she squeaked slightly as the weight on her body was repositioned. A low chuckle came from the person, and Ruby scowled before bumping her head against his.

"Hey, Gem?"

"...Yes?"

The phantom touch of lips brushed across her earlobe, and he whispered with a grin, "I win again."

Ruby growled in anger as Mercury smirked and rolled off her, landing on the floor mat beside her. She pouted before crossing her arms and turning her head away from him, opting to stare at the curved wall.

"Aw, come on Gem." Mercury threw an arm around her middle and pulled her towards him. "You were the one that asked for some basic self-defense lessons."

"Well, yeah, but when I ask for help I don't secretly mean 'this is an opportune moment for you to pin me on the ground over and over'!" Ruby yelled, wriggling in his grasp to try and break free to no avail.

"Hey, when you present me an opportunity I gotta go for it," He responded promptly, pressing his forehead against hers. He stared at her for a moment before a devilish smirk came across his lips. "And I gotta say, I like having you underneath me."

Ruby went bright red and squeaked, "M-Mercury, that's gross!"

"Don't try and deny that you like it just as much," Mercury replied smugly before pressing his lips to hers in a gentle manner. All annoyance toward him melted away as Ruby's eyes fluttered closed, instinctively chasing after him when he tried to pull away.

Once they parted, Mercury chuckled lowly. "See?"

Grumbling, Ruby bolted to her feet and glared down at the lounging teen, only to give up when Mercury braced his hands behind his head a smirked up at her. She backpedaled away to the bench at the outskirts of the arena, and defiantly sat on the cold metal.

After the disastrous encounter with Torchwick before the Breach and the one sided battle against Lynae and Slate, Ruby decided she should try to at the very least learn some hand to hand defensive moves. It came up when she was talking with Mercury, and not long after, they had convinced Miss Goodwitch to give them permission to use the combat arena to practice a bit, which was a miracle in itself. Normally Goodwitch wouldn't want her classroom to be occupied while not supervised, but Ruby had suspicions that Ozpin had a hand in swaying her to agree.

And because of that absent minded thought, the mention of Ozpin reminded her of the little meeting he helped her arrange.

Ruby cast a nervous glance at Mercury, who was beginning to push himself off of the floor. She knew she should tell him, but she was… afraid. It was silly, since she knew Mercury cared for her deeply, and he's been honest with her where he didn't need to be. He might not understand at first, but she knew he would let her explain. There was just something that stopped the confession from escaping, and the breath she saved for the words became merely a surplus of air she had sucked in her lungs.

Distractedly, Ruby went about readjusting her black socks. She wasn't wearing her regular combat gear, but instead wore simple black leggings and a deep red t-shirt. Mercury recommended it since her cape would trip her up and with all the close combat practice her skirt might… well…

Let's just say Mercury teased her relentlessly about that while she blushed a bright crimson.

"Thinking about something?" Mercury's voice interrupted her thoughts, and she jumped slightly once she realized how close he had gotten. Sheepishly, Ruby averted her gaze and swung her legs idly. Should she tell him now? Nyx would be around soon, she doubted she had much time. Ruby inwardly groaned, knowing full well that she was just running circles in her mind. Maybe she should just focus on practicing for now.

She was jarred back to the present again as fingers glided along her jaw, guiding her to look towards Mercury, who had a more serious expression. "Ruby, is something wrong?"

"Uhm… n-no, not really…" Ruby admitted nervously, and her shaky tone only caused Mercury's frown to deepen. She quickly formed another thought before Mercury could respond. "I just can't seem to get the hang of this and it's… it's frustrating."

It wasn't a lie. Ruby has been practicing this self-defense thing for a little over two hours, and has shown little signs of improvement. Mercury sighed before sitting beside her and placing a hand on her shoulder.

"Atlas wasn't built in a day, Gem. It'll take a while for you to get the hang of a fighting style vastly different from yours. Just being open to the new style is an effort in itself, so you're already in a good position."

"I know… I'm just useless without Crescent Rose and I wish I wasn't…"

Mercury pursed his lips before hugging her to his side for a moment and planting a kiss on the crown of her head. "I know you do, just try not to think about it. Want to take a break, wait for Nyx to show up?"

"Well… can we try aura healing? You said you would teach me a while ago."

Mercury stilled for a moment before nodding slowly, turning on the bench so one leg rested on it and his foot was on top of the knee of his other leg. Ruby mirrored him by sitting criss-crossed on the bench and facing him.

"…Before we even get to healing, you have to know how to get to another's soul first. It doesn't take any aura, you just have to focus." Mercury hesitated before taking her hand and pressing his thumb into the center of her palm. Ruby frowned.

"Mercury, are you okay?" Ruby asked with a small voice. "You don't seem like you want to…?" She made a few nervous gestures between them, becoming more flustered as Mercury's emotionless expression eased into a sly smirk and an arched brow.

"Want to…?" Mercury drawled teasingly, mischief in his eyes. His free hand cupped her chin and pulled her forward, and he loomed over her with a languid smirk. "I can finish that sentence with a lot of things, Gem."

Ruby scowled, though it came out looking more like a pout, and she thumped a hand against his chest. "What's up with you and all the innuendos today?!"

"Mm, feeling playful." Mercury slanted his lips over hers for a second, and she relaxed slightly as her eyes fluttered closed. "Gotta say though, I'm surprised you're actually picking up on them. Here I thought you were my innocent little angel."

Ruby flushed a bright crimson as she spluttered, "I-It's no-not my fault th-that you corrupted me with this stuff!"

"Mm. Point. Still though, you're supposed to be the angel to my demon."

She scoffed. "Pfft, you are not a demon, just like I'm not an angel."

Mercury frowned thinly as he leaned backward. "You… might think different once you see my soul. I can shield you from most things… but not all."

"Mercury." Ruby smiled fondly at him, cupping his face within her hands. "I'm still here even after you shared your past, admitted your occupation, and nearly smashed a guy's face in." Mercury snorted slightly at that, and Ruby shrugged with a grin. "Seeing your soul won't change what I think. It'll just show me what I already know."

Mercury blinked, expressionless for a moment before placing a hand on the back of her neck and leaning forward to press a kiss to her forehead. "I guess you really are an angel then."

Ruby grimaced. "Really? That your new nickname for me or something?"

He thought for a moment before he smirked. "Angel. Got a nice ring to it." He waggled two fingers. "I got two nicknames for you now. You have none for me, so I'm winning."

"Since when was it a competition?!" Ruby objected. "And I call you Merc sometimes!"

"Not original, Em made that up."

"Grr…" Ruby grit her teeth. his smug face just looked so… so _punchable_. Impulsively, she retorted, "Well, if I'm your angel, then I guess all your perverted talk makes you my demon, huh?"

"Whatever makes you happy, Angel."

"Well, guess we're two to one on nicknames now, Demon."

Mercury grinned. "Guess that means you have to think of another."

Faintly, Ruby realized that she was actually flirting for once, and it was going well. And she was enjoying it. "Who says I don't have another?"

"Oh?" Mercury's voice had a playful lit within it, and her stomach flipped at the sound. "And what might that be?"

She shrugged with a smug little smile, glancing off to the side before reaching her hand up to run through his messy bangs. "Hello there, Spoon. Two to two, we're even now!"

His smile was quickly wiped away to an annoyed frown, and Ruby laughed at his expression. She could tell he wasn't really annoyed, since the light was still in his eyes and the frown was forced, and as her laughs grew louder, the edges of his mouth began to twitch.

"You think that's funny?" Mercury asked, and Ruby, while feeling suspicious of the slowly growing smirk, Ruby managed a nod as she covered her smile with her mouth.

"J-Just a little!"

"Hmm… alright Strawberry." Mercury grinned maliciously, and Ruby's eyes widened.

"W-Wait don't you— _Mercury!_ "

"I remember our talk about ice cream flavors too, you know," Mercury taunted as he lifted her off her feet and hugged her to him, spinning exaggeratedly around the training room floor. "So, if you're strawberry flavored ice cream, then I guess that I'm _spooning the ice cream_ right now."

"Urgh Yang made that same pun when I told her about it!" Ruby whined as she kicked her legs, to no avail. She was forced to endure staring into Mercury's eyes while he sported that arrogant smirk, but she ended up smiling along anyway. "You're the worst."

"You're the one dating me. Also, three to two."

She pouted when realizing her defeat, squirming slightly in his grip. "Alright fine, you win. Can we try out the aura thing now before Nyx and Scarlet show up?"

"Sure thing, Gem, Angel, Strawberry—"

"Alright alright, you big sore winner—"

"Right back at you, little sore loser," Mercury rebuked before pressing a kiss to her neck and setting her back down on the bench. He took a seat beside her, and she was glad to see any nervousness she saw before was washed away thanks to their banter. The same went for her, since any worries about her meeting with Torchwick was absent from her mind. She'd tell him later, after they're finished training.

"Ready?" Mercury held out his hands.

Ruby grasped his hands with a small smile. "Teach me, my Demon."

He laughed. "Anything for you, Angel."


	21. Travel to the Soul

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> My deepest apologies for not updating! AP exams consumed me this past month, but I should be getting chapter 22 done relatively quick. I just haven't had a chance to code this chapter until now. Sorry again for the long delay!

It was dark.

_"Can you hear me?"_

She fumbled around blindly, eyes wide as she tried to find any sort of light. When she tried to move, jagged forms of matter prodded at her harshly, forming welts on her skin only for them to disappear a moment later.

_"Where are you?!"_

Ruby wanted to call out, but the darkness around her silenced her. Not of fear, but more like a phantom force stopped her from saying a word, and instead left her to struggle and writhe in a crushing grip.

Suddenly, the dark mask was peeled away ruthlessly, and streams of silvery light trickled into her eyes. Moments later, a hand shining a bright silver pushed through, grasped the fabric of her shirt, and pulled her through.

" _There_ you are!" Mercury exclaimed as she emerged from the darkness. He didn't look like his normal self. His physical form was the same, but instead of flesh tone colors and muted greys, they let off bright streams of white and silver light respectively. "You okay?"

"I'm fine, it was just… difficult to get in," Ruby explained sheepishly, lifting her hands to see the pale red glow emitting from them, devoid of any fleshy colors. The only part of her that wasn't a shade of red was her eyes, that stayed their bright sterling silver. "Is it that difficult all the time?"

He shifted uncomfortably on his feet. "It's… hard to say. It depends on how guarded the soul is, and how much trust is between the two. Uh, what you were in a second ago was called a 'soul trap'. Natural, instinctively made barriers that stop outsiders from getting in."

"So… does that mean you don't trust me?"

"Anything but, Gem," Mercury said warmly. "I'm just not used to letting someone in. It's… new."

Ruby smiled shyly, tentatively grasping his hand and entwining their fingers together. "Well, I'm glad you decided to share it with me."

Mercury looked slightly uncomfortable, but he managed a slanted smile. "Me too. Who better to show but my Angel, right?" He teased while using his hand to lift her chin.

Smiling sheepishly, Ruby pulled his hand away from her chin and clasped it with both of hers, looking around this new environment curiously. "So…where are we going?"

"To where you'll need to go to heal aura," Mercury said simply, tugging gently on her hands and beginning to walk forward.

Ruby looked around the physical manifestation of Mercury's soul with wide eyes. The sky was tinged a mixture of bright silvers and muted greys, while black clouds floated peacefully, almost resembling underdeveloped Nevermores. As they walked, a worn stone path rose up just in time so they could continue walking at a slow pace, shattered rock forming perfect octagonal shapes. Around them, she could faintly make out buildings that seemed Mistrilian and a large body of dark water in the distance, and, far past the buildings, she saw a large mountain covered with trees. Silver fire peeked out from overtop, plumes of grey smoke rising up and staining the already grey sky.

Just as she noticed the fire however, it became more and more translucent until eventually, a colorless sky was all that remained in the distance. The buildings faded slightly, but they remained visible, and Ruby frowned before leaning into Mercury slightly, a silent question in her eyes.

"I told you I can shield you from some things," Mercury explained with an uncomfortable shrug.

"…why was there fire up on that mountain?"

Mercury pressed his lips into a firm line, eyes pointed ahead. "I used to live there."

Ruby played with Mercury's fingers absentmindedly, twisting and untwisting their hands together as she thought. "Did you cause it?"

He didn't answer, merely glancing off to the side and lowering his head. She watched the buildings behind him flicker slightly, like his own emotions disturbed them somehow. Ruby inhaled before nodding to herself and letting out the air she just breathed in in a large gust of wind as she said, "Okay, I won't ask about home then."

"It wasn't home," Mercury spit out almost reflexively, flinching at the mere utterance of _home_. "I just lived there."

Ruby wondered what home for Mercury was, but didn't ask. Instead she looked away from him and towards the inky fog in front of them. Her silver eyes wandered briefly before a spark came to them, and she began to babble happily.

"Ever since Yang was born, my family stayed in the same house. We live on this little island called Patch, a little ways off from Vale. It's pretty cozy, and the Grimm population is easy to manage since they normally keep to the forests, and the waters around Patch are too shallow to harbor any aquatic Grimm that would be threatening. Well, there are a few points that are deep enough, but it's manageable," Ruby explained with a hop in her step, seeing Mercury turn to look at her out of the corner of her eye. "We live a ways off from the main village there. We're surrounded by the forest, and if you walk right from my house and keep going for a few miles… there's a cliff edge. It's, it's pretty peaceful there. Serene." Ruby looked down at her feet. "Whenever I need to think, or I need to talk about something and find a way to work it out—" _with mom_ "—by myself, I go there."

She felt the need to explain further about why she would talk to herself, though she didn't really think of it as by herself. She just knew Mercury was staring at her with a blank expression, but she also knew he was secretly processing every word and analyzing what she said critically. It's what he did.

"I find that, if I say it out loud, I can think about it better. Like, since it's not just in my head anymore, the problem seems less… I dunno, less silly I guess. Heck, a cricket could hear it and it'd make me feel a bit better about it." She was rambling, but she got him to chuckle a little at that, so she kept going. "I know it's dumb, but I just… I feel like on that cliff side, just being alone in a peaceful place—" _and with mom by my side_ "—helps me think better."

Mercury stayed silent for a long moment, and Ruby thought for a second that he wasn't going to say anything. She opened her mouth to continue talking, but he spoke before she could, "If it works for you, it's not dumb."

"You think so?"

"You feel better after, right?" At Ruby's nod, Mercury continued, "Then it's not dumb. It's better than anything I got anyway…"

The second part of that was a mumble, almost like a thought accidentally said aloud. Ruby looked at him worriedly, and brushed her thumb against his knuckles. "Do you have problems when…uhm…"

"I… don't really have a method when he starts talking," Mercury admitted with a bitter look aimed at the ground. "I can't even say what makes him start up. It's… random. And when he starts talking, anger starts to build up." He glanced at her with an apologetic look then. "That's when I know I have to leave."

Ruby could tell he was thinking about the night of the dance, and she nudged his side with a small, hesitant smile. "I think I handle your angry side okay though. You don't have to run."

"You know how to handle my panicked side," He corrected. "That panic comes from anger, yeah, but when anger takes over completely… that's not something I want you to be near, should it ever happen."

She frowned at that. "If you keep running the problem will never be fixed."

Mercury glanced at her in surprise, arching a brow. "Oh? You have experience then?"

His tone was bordering on hostile, but Ruby stood strong despite the inkling of wariness that trickled through her. "Not directly, but I've witnessed what it did to Blake." His gaze dulled from guarded defensiveness to hesitant curiosity. "It happened when Team RWBY was still fairly new. Exchange students from the Vytal Festival had just started trickling in, and Weiss wasn't… wasn't as accepting of the faunus as she is now. Blake and her got into it when Weiss wouldn't stop calling Sun a degenerate and a misfit. Long story short, the White Fang came up in conversation and… Blake said we."

She waited until Mercury put the pieces together. He put it together fairly quick, but she wasn't too surprised. Mercury was observant, so he probably already knew Blake was a faunus. "So, Blake was…?"

"She was a part of the White Fang, but she left," Ruby answered. She didn't know how Blake would respond to her sharing this secret, but it was to try and help Mercury understand her logic. In the end, Blake wouldn't mind, Ruby was sure. "And when she let that slip, she panicked, and she ran. We spent the entire weekend looking for her, wondering what we were going to find. I ended up splitting up with Weiss and Yang once Penny found us—" _I was ditched_ "—and eventually we found Blake at the docks. Where the White Fang and Torchwick happened to be stealing dust."

Mercury's brows raised for a moment, but he didn't show much else. "And what does that have to do with me?"

"After Weiss and Yang made their way to the docks, Weiss and Blake talked. Or, at least, they came to terms with each other. Once Blake stopped running and explained it… the problem wasn't much of a problem anymore." Ruby peered up at him and squeezed his hand gently. "So if you face his memory, and stop running from it… maybe it won't be such a problem anymore."

Mercury looked tense, his face stony and eyes hiding whatever he was thinking. He was good at that, and she hated it, but she didn't let it get to her. He was secretive, and with his past, he had every reason to be.

"There will always be a problem, Ruby. He's not still walking around, popping up to screw with me. He's in here." He pointed to his temple, tapping the side of his head for emphasis. "Getting rid of him is a lot harder—"

"There is no getting rid of me, Merc-y."

Mercury's fists balled up at the voice, and Ruby bit her lip in worry at the sudden contortion of Mercury's face. An apparition-like figure of a man with familiar looking dark grey eyes and dusty white hair appeared, but his eyes didn't contain the softness that Mercury's did whenever he looked at her. When this manifestation of a past figure stared at her, he didn't even try to hide the… the evil within him.

"Hello again… Dad." Mercury looked pained to even grind out the title, and even then he wouldn't look the man's way. It was just so… so surreal to meet a man that's already dead, and has been for years.

"You're Marcus…" Ruby said more so to herself, but it caused both father and son to whip their heads toward her, Mercury in horror and Marcus in sick amusement.

"And you're the little foal that's been messing with my boy's head," Marcus drawled, shoving gloved hands into his pockets and taking a slow step forward, only to stop as Mercury lurched toward her suddenly and pushed her behind him. Marcus cocked his head with a sickly smirk as Mercury stared him down, his hands reaching back to grip Ruby's arms tightly, fingers coiling around her arms in a vice grip.

_I wasn't expecting this when we tried out aura healing…_

Ruby sighed silently as she rested her head on Mercury's back. If the tension in his muscles weren't obvious before, they definitely were now. There was a dark, powerful energy radiating off him, all of it directed towards the ghost standing in front of them. The crashing of waves sounded behind her, and she found that the large body of water had somehow moved closer to them. Upon closer inspection, it wasn't water at all. The liquid held a bronzed color that she was all too familiar with, as it was the exact same type of drink Uncle Qrow always held in that flask of his.

"Well… this one certainly has twisted you around her dainty little finger, hasn't she?" Marcus leaned his torso to the side a little to catch a glimpse of her eyes, since she was peeking around Mercury's torso to keep Marcus in sight. "Not surprised… ya always did like the cuter, more innocent lookin' ones."

"Shut up," Mercury growled. "You don't talk to her. At all."

"An' since when did ya get t' tell me what to do, hm?"

"Um… well," Ruby spoke up awkwardly, shrugging her shoulders. "He did, uh… did kind of kill you… so, ah…"

Marcus snorted. "Meek, too. Now, I gotta ask ya, darlin—" He stepped forward without care as Mercury leant his torso forward threateningly, attention focused on the first new target this mental image of Marcus has had in years. "—how did he sweep ya up? Flirt a bit? Get a lil' touchy feely first?"

Ruby felt her own defenses rising, and she gripped Mercury's emblem cloth tightly with red tinged fingers. "That's none of your busin—"

"So he did," Marcus interrupted pacing languidly side to side as he kept his torso facing them. "He ever tell ya the amount of girls I had him seduce for an easy kill? And how did he do it?" His thin lips peeled to reveal pure white teeth that looked so sharp they could bite into her. "Just. Like. Tha—"

" _Shut up! You don't talk to her!_ " Mercury snarled ravenously, but she could feel him trembling. One glance at his face from even the awkward angle she sported showed her the massive amounts of rage and panic. She needed to calm him down.

"Still trying to protect her?" Marcus tisked in disappointment. "Come on now son, is that how I raised ya?"

She didn't know if Mercury's rage was infectious or not, but she felt a burning in her gut and something build in her chest, and, after ripping her arms free of Mercury's hold, she zoomed around so instead she was standing in front of him. "I don't care what you say, Mercury isn't the monster you are, he never will be, and as far as I'm concerned, your 'legacy' is just as dead as you are!"

Marcus looked less than impressed, and he merely addressed Mercury, "Control your plaything of the month, would you boy?"

That was it. Something in her chest just _snapped_ , and suddenly it was so dark around them, the blackened fog surrounding them but not obstructing her view of Mercury's poor excuse of a father. Dark shadows made his face look sharpened and defined, an eerie look about him, but Ruby's anger cast away her fears.

"Ruby—" Mercury tried to pull on her arm, but she shook him off.

_"I. Am not. A toy."_

"Oh? I think I angered the Little Foal," Marcus cooed mockingly, cackling to himself before leaning down to her level. "You gonna cry, sweet stuff?"

The burning in her gut, the snap in her chest, all of it zoomed upward. Her eyes began to burn, but surprisingly enough, she didn't feel like she was about to cry. No, everything around her sharpened, a tinge of bright, indomitable silver, and she suddenly felt powerful. Her rosey image shifted to a steely silver, the same as her eyes, and her glare alone with this new vision and new aura caused Marcus to falter.

"Well… I'll be…" Marcus shook his head in surprise. "You're a rare one, aren't you?"

Ruby was confused by his words, but she didn't let it get to her. "Stay away. Leave Mercury alone."

"And… certainly not meek," Marcus added with an inquisitive look, looking as if he was studying her with actual curiosity and not that leering amusement from before.

Ruby scowled, a determined look in bright, brilliant, burning silver eyes. " _Act as the innocent flower, but be the serpent hiding underneath it._ "

Marcus stilled for a moment before a slanted grin broke across his face. "Y'know… take back what I said." His eyes shifted to Mercury, a dangerous but approving glint within them. "I like her. Fierce. Keep that one around, son." And then, with a slight nod to her and a glitter in his eye that held so much mystery, the man of Mercury's nightmares turned on his heel and vanished into the fog. Ruby couldn't shake the feeling that this wouldn't be the last encounter with this phantom memory of him.

"G–…Gem…"

She felt surprising tranquil in this chaotic place, and she turned with a serene look about her face. Mercury's form was noticeably darker than before, darker hues of gray highlighting his form compared to stunning silver. His face was one of shock and awe, his eyes disbelieving as they trained themselves on her petite form.

She strided toward him confidently, noticing faintly that she still was shining a sterling silver instead of that crimson red she was before, and she raised her hands to cup his cheeks and run soothing fingers across his skin. His form flared brighter considerably once her fingers made contact with soft skin.

"Don't let a memory control you," Ruby whispered fiercely, earnest eyes drilling into his. "Because memories, they only become nightmares if you let them."

Flashes of her mother passed by her eyes, but she mentally shook them away. This was about Mercury and helping Mercury, and she wouldn't make this a pity session.

"I'll… try." Mercury sighed, pressing a kiss to her forehead before pressing their foreheads together. "Want to get out of here?"

"If you're ready."

Ruby suddenly felt herself being tugged back to reality, the world around her blurring until suddenly she was staring at the back of her eyelids, her head pressed against something warm and her hands clutching at a familiar jacket collar.

Tiredly, Ruby pried her eyes open to see that she had somehow re-positioned herself to lean against Mercury, her head having rested onto his shoulder. She didn't really mind though, he was rather comfy.

"Feeling okay?"

"Mm… little tired," Ruby replied as she pulled herself off of his shoulder, rubbing at her eye with one hand and the other covering her mouth as she yawned. After a moment, she noticed Mercury was staring at her with an expression she couldn't quite decipher. "What is it?"

Mercury had a nearly undetectable smile on his face, a minuscule curve of one side of his lip that gave it away. His hand came up to idly caress her right cheek as his eyes stared dazedly at the bits of skin on her face that he was stroking mindlessly with his fingers. "He… didn't hate you."

Ruby blinked, not realizing his meaning at first. "…you mean… Marcus?"

"…Yeah. He hated you at first," Mercury said. "Like he hates everyone until they prove to him that they shouldn't be hated… by his standards at least. He's hated you ever since I met you. But it took you about a minute meeting him face to face to make him… well, not like you… but tolerate you."

Leaning into his touch, she pressed her palm against the back of his, asking innocently, "Is that unusual?"

"Heh. Very." Mercury smirked before leaning forward and pressing a slow kiss to her lips. It was one of those kisses that lit her nerves on fire down to her very toes, and she made a small whining noise in the back of her throat at the contact. Mercury pulled away only slightly, his nose gracing her cheek and lips whispering at her jawline. "You never cease to amaze me in some way these days, Strawberry."

Blushing in flattery, Ruby awkwardly replied, "Let's just stick to one nickname, please."

"Ah, but Little Gem, that ruins the fun!" Mercury cooed teasingly, smirking maliciously at her. "After all, you gave me more than one."

"That's—"

"Alright you two, enough of the banter and help me out with this crazy bird!" _Oh, it seemed Scarlet and Nyx finally showed up._

Ruby and Mercury both blinked before looking over to see Scarlet looking rather flustered while a hyperactive Nyx was balancing precariously on the stand of the punching bag pushed into the far corner. The three watched in disbelief as she spiked her claws into the wall before climbing up onto the platform that held the seats observing students would take while a match was taking place. She began walking along the railing with a happy smile on her face and her arms outstretched to balance herself.

"…why am I not surprised?" Ruby muttered to herself, while Mercury had gained a devilish smirk. She watched him curiously as he stood nonchalantly, went into his casual fighting stance, and— "W-Wait, Mercury, what're you—"

Mercury began casually kicking his foot out and firing shots off at Nyx from his greaves, and Nyx cartwheeled and somersaulted out of the way with an equally mischievous grin. She ended up standing on one foot on the railing with the other raised behind her, her pigtails swishing to the side as she cocked her head and glared at Mercury with an eerily happy smile, and while Mercury didn't flinch, Ruby and Scarlet shared a look.

_Should we be scared?_ Scarlet mouthed to Ruby. She merely shrugged in response.

"Hm," Mercury hummed, eyes easing over to Scarlet. "Well, I know this'll get her down here."

"What'll get her— Oh bollocking—"

Scarlet flinched as Mercury fired a shot at him only to gape in surprise as Nyx zoomed down and deflected the shot with one of her claws, hitting the ground in a roll and racing toward Mercury. Mercury's boot and Nyx's claw clanged together and stopped all momentum, just left them with weapons interlocked and excited smiles on their faces. They stayed like that for a moment, sizing each other up while they pushed against each other with their respective weapons, and Scarlet took that time to rush over to the bench Ruby was still perched on.

"Uh, so… do they do this often?" Scarlet asked Ruby nervously.

"I… don't know."

Nyx swiped upward with her claw not locked with Mercury's boot, and Mercury responded by swinging his other leg up and planting one hand on the ground, kicking Nyx back as his legs swung around his body and the momentum ended up causing him to flip upright again. Nyx sped forward again, swinging punches at him similarly to Yang's fighting style while Mercury redirected her fists with his forearms.

They continued on like that, with Mercury throwing complicated kicks that incorporated break-dancing and Nyx wildly throwing punches. They were ferocious in battling against each other, like they haven't been able to release this kind of energy in ages, and while they showed an extreme amount of skill, Ruby couldn't help but think, at least on Mercury's part, that he was holding back just a bit. She couldn't tell with Nyx, since she hasn't battled beside her nearly as much as she had with Mercury during the Breach, but she was positive Mercury was. Maybe Mercury didn't want to show all of his cards just yet since the tournament was so close.

Either way though, Ruby smiled fondly at the pair as they seemed to be enjoying themselves. And, while fun to watch the spectacle, it would be even more entertaining to jump in.

"So… who do you wanna side with?" Ruby asked as she stood up, swinging her arms as she glanced at Scarlet.

"Uh… both could probably kill me with ease…"

Ruby rolled her eyes. "Just say you'll side with Nyx."

Scarlet frowned. "Why?"

"Because I ship you two."

"Wha— ship?!"

"Yes, just like Nyx shipped Merc and I, I ship you and Nyx! I ship it like FoxEx!" Ruby chirped, silencing Scarlet by holding up one hand. "Ah ah ah!…it's been shipped. Accept your fate."

"Bloody— my fate?!" Scarlet yipped, his visible green eye widening at the small girl. "Why is it that you even thought of shipping Nyx and I?"

"…wow. The dynamic is just like Jaune and Pyrrha before he grew a brain."

"Ey—"

"Except, like, with you being Jaune, the level of cluelessness is kind of multiplied to…about three. Oh, and Pyrrha is a lot less sorry and a lot more stabby," Ruby explained as she casually ducked her head slightly and, seconds later, Mercury flew over her head and landed on his feet a couple meters away.

"Okay, I am not clueless—"

Three spikes shot out of Nyx's cestus and imbedded themselves in the ground around Mercury, and he shot his heels into the floor to propel himself upward seconds before the spikes exploded.

"Maybe not clueless, but more so denying—"

Mercury shot curved dust rounds towards Nyx only for her to swing her arms wildly and flip in unpredictable directions as she deflected the rounds with both her heels and her spikes.

"Well then—" Scarlet brandished his cutlass and held it in front of him, pointed at Ruby. "If you're so adamant on joining this 'duel of the ships' then—"

Mercury's boot smashed into the cutlass, knocking Scarlet back.

He grabbed the back of Ruby's shirt as he landed slightly to the side of her, and he lifted her off her feet with one hand, swinging her around so she rested on his back. Her arms and legs instinctively wrapped around his neck and torso respectively. As Mercury did this, Nyx hopped in front of Scarlet with an oddly happy and murderous gleam in her eye, seeming almost possessive as she hovered around Scarlet while not taking an eye off Mercury.

A long silence ensued, and, thinking this needed a cheesy introduction, Ruby thrust one fist into the air and bellowed, "And now, we shall commence the epic duel of Quicksilver v Cherry on Top!"

"You are such a dork." Mercury chuckled, and before Ruby could try and smack him, he added, "A cute dork."

She narrowed her eyes at the back of his head. "…I'll let it slide today."

Nyx bounced on her feet with impatience, urging Ruby and Mercury to turn back to the fight silently. Scarlet merely looked at the three in disbelief.

"What did I get myself into becoming mates with you guys?"

Ruby giggled before pressing a kiss to Mercury's cheek and whispering, "Alright Spoon, let's win it for Quicksilver."

He merely grinned.

"CHARGE!"

* * *

"—and then Mercury did this awesome judo kick thing that just sent Scarlet flying, and Nyx just freaked before running in and—"

"So what you're saying is…" Yang interrupted with a slanted smile. "Second date was pretty good?"

"Yes!" Ruby squealed, practically vibrating in place. "It was so much fun! Who would have thought that a self defense class would be so entertaining?"

"Yeah, about that actually. Why did you suddenly decide to try it out? I'd always try to teach you a few things but you'd spazz out," Yang prodded with a slight grin.

"W-Well, after everything that happened at Mountain Glenn… I don't want to be caught in that sort of situation again." Ruby scuffed her bare foot on the rug, hands clasped behind her back. "And since Mercury and Nyx are both awesome at hand to hand, it sort of fell together."

"Aw, does that mean I'm not good enough to teach my little sister?" Yang faked a look of hurt, making her bottom lip quiver as her hand pressed against her chest in exaggeration.

"N-No! I just… I—"

Yang's acting flipped to maliciously devious. "Or is it because being pinned by your boyfriend is more exciting compared to your busty big sis?"

_"Y-YAAAANG! NOT FUNNY!"_ Ruby wailed in embarrassment, her cheeks coloring a bright crimson.

"If I were you I'd be into it."

Ruby's eyes widened as she whirled around to face the cat faunus who was perched on the desk with an open book in her hand. "Blake!"

Blake's amber eyes flicked up to Ruby as one side of her mouth curved upward, saying nothing as she curled her fingers around a crisp page and turning it with a nonchalant appearance. Once she realized Ruby would continue to stare until she did say something, she spoke with a teasing grin, "Come on Ruby, face it: you have a very attractive boyfriend. I'm sure many of the girls here wouldn't mind it."

"W-Wait wh-what—!"

Yang snorted. "Eh, Blake probably already did that sort of thing with Mister Twelve Pack. No need to worry about Kitty Cat stealing your guy, Rubes."

Blake's eyebrow quirked upward. "I admit nothing."

As Ruby made pained noises of embarrassment, Weiss sighed melodramatically from her spot lying on her bed. "You two are so vulgar."

Yang strode over and flicked Weiss' nose. "Not my fault you're the priss queen."

Weiss glared half-heartedly. "Neanderthal." Clearing her throat, she then addressed Ruby. "I have to say however, you deciding upon these self-defense classes was a good move. I highly doubt I myself could hold my own hand to hand, and to see you willingly go about a new technique is inspiring, in all honesty."

As Ruby somehow flushed a darker shade of red than she already was under Weiss' praise, Yang grinned devilishly. "Oh, so you wanna learn some moves too, Ice Queen?"

"What the— unhand me you brute!" Weiss shrieked as Yang pulled her from her bed and put her in a headlock, messing up her white hair that was freely flowing down her back. "This is unnecessary and childish— you're ruining my hair!"

Blake sighed before returning to her book, hiding away a smile, while Ruby brought her hands up to her mouth to try and contain her fit of giggles. Yang was relentless when it came to these sorts of things, and Weiss definitely wasn't getting out of it anytime soon.

"I don't know why you're laughing Rubes," Yang said as she let out a content sigh, lilac eyes burning bright. "You're next~"

Ruby paled, her laughter suddenly gone. "C-Can't you just save that for Neptune?"

Yang grinned wider, and Ruby gulped. Yup, it was time to run.

* * *

_"Neo."_

_{Yes~?}_

_"Get off."_

_{No~ :P}_

Mercury sighed as he trudged forward with an amped up Neopolitan perched on his shoulders. Originally Neo had hopped onto Scarlet's back and he reluctantly (Well, the redhead complained but Mercury could see in his eyes that Scarlet secretly liked pampering the spoiled little brat) walked to the dorms with her happily swinging her legs as he tried not to topple over. But Scarlet's dorm was a few hallways away from their own, so once Scarlet had to depart, Neo had promptly jumped from Scarlet's back and onto his.

Yeah, he wasn't too fond of it.

_{Come on now, don't be all broody. It's just a piggy back ride!}_

"What are you, five?" Mercury groaned, flinching once Neo gave him a hard smack to the back of the head. "Okay, do you _want_ me to drop you?"

The small hum from Neo was a 'no', he assumed.

"Then how about you, y'know, _not_ use me as a punching bag as well as a horse."

He heard a breathy little laugh from her, which in reality was a wheeze of air since she refused to make any noise beyond that, and he grunted in pain suddenly as her heels dug into his sides and a scroll was shoved in his face.

_{Giddy up, horsey!}_

"That's it," Mercury hissed as he released his hold on Neo's legs and rolled his shoulders violently, suddenly feeling much lighter as Neo was thrown off him. He didn't hear a thud, so he assumed she caught herself with her naturally nimble prowess.

What a shame.

A hard punch came to his left arm then and Neo bounced up alongside him with an angry pout. _{You're a jerk}_

"I know I am, it's part of my charm," He retorted dryly as he massaged his neck with one hand and tried to roll out a kink. "I don't know why you assumed anything less in that situation."

_{You didn't seem to mind when you were running around with Ruby on your back during the fight}_

"No, I didn't. But you're not Ruby, so you don't have the luxury."

Neo stomped her foot. _{Rude! I'm half the reason you two lovebirds are a thing, show some appreciation!}_

"I didn't ask you to play matchmaker," Mercury replied, feeling himself relaxing with this oddly affectionate banter. To think that a month ago they hated each other mutually. "And besides, you're too busy bouncing around trying to get Scarlet to notice you."

Neo gaped before punching him harder on the arm, but Mercury laughed as an uncharacteristic blush spread faintly across her cheeks. Her eyes flashed to brown and pink for a moment as she typed in her scroll.

_{Please, that's just how I am naturally}_

"Sure, because pouncing on some guy's back five times a day is totally normal in a friendship." Mercury arched a brow at her. "He probably has a cheesy nickname for you too. And not that 'love' nickname, since almost every girl he talks to gets that label."

Neo grit her teeth, and Mercury actually heard her growl. It was kind of cute actually, since it wasn't all that intimidating and was undoubtedly feminine, and to top it all off, it came from someone of Neo's size, which honestly was teetering on the line between 'regularly sized' and 'midget'.

Still though, she could easily kill something despite the amount of cuteness she possessed, and Mercury took that reminder to heart. Not saying another word, he used his card on their door and opened it while hiding a grin from his companion.

A grin that was immediately ripped away.

"Yeah, we need to talk," Emerald said grimly as she turned towards the door that they just walked through, holding her scroll in hand. There was a picture of a golden haired woman on the holographic screen, with purple accents littered within her hair.

"Summer is on the prowl again."

* * *

Her wing was healing nicely.

_"Lyn, are you certain I can't just kill the girl now? She's far too trusting, could probably drop a name and she'll let me in her dorm like that."_

_"Clean and discreet. Well, clean if we want it to be. I like what Storm is thinking."_

"I thought I made it clear: Rosebud will not be harmed until after the Festival has begun, and even so, attempt at direct harm has proven to be… ineffective." Lynae sneered at the memory, fingers absently preening the feathers on her injured wing. Nearly healed.

_"I know… it's just so tempting. I have to just watch as she prances around in that cute little outfit, not to mention watching an assassin like him be reduced to some sort of disgusting… loving… being… urgh! You would think Marcus taught him to better control his urges."_

"Calm yourself Storm, you'll be able to brew trouble soon… Lake, how are your teammates?"

_"Oblivious to our identities, of course. Our leader is… not focused, as of late. She suspects nothing."_

"Keep it that way," Lynae said smoothly as Cinder's heels clicked behind her. She muted the call, turning to the Fire Queen. "Cinder, to what do I owe the pleasure?"

A printed dossier was pressed into Lynae's palm, and she cocked her head at the picture. Cinder smiled sinisterly at her.

"You have been loyal to our cause for such a long time, Lynae Erin. To be trusted with the knowledge of not only my existence, but of her's, is a privilege not even Emerald and Mercury possess. So… now that you have proven loyal multiple times…"

Cinder's amber eyes burned brightly, and Lynae gazed into the nuclear fire, dreaming of ashes and decay.

"I ask you this: are you a Pawn, or do you strive to be a Queen?"

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Anyone get the Macbeth reference?


	22. Welcome to My Arena

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And Volume 3 has begun!

"Hey Mom…"

The stone never said anything. Sometimes Ruby thought she was mad to be talking aloud, to a silver stone with a few carved letters. She didn't care though.

"Jailed my first baddie! Not bad for the second semester at Beacon…"

_Her body didn't even reside under the stone. This was pointless. **No it isn't!**_

_Yes it is._

_Mom is never **pointless.**_

"Team RWBY is doing okay. No more of that silly drama that went on in the first semester… well. No silly drama within my team anyway."

If Mom was here, she would be looking expectantly at her with that slight little smile. The one that she now knew meant there was curiosity and mischief brewing inside her. Ruby had that same smile, a smile that came out a lot now.

"Getting so involved in repelling the crime in Vale has brought me some… attention. D-Don't worry though! I'm in good hands. I'm learning self defense from Mercury and Nyx, and one of the fourth year students, Rai Panther, is keeping an eye on things. Just making sure no one with bad intentions is snooping around. Oh, I forgot! Mercury, Nyx and Rai are some of my newer friends, along with a few more transfer students. Rai is from Shade, but everyone else I've become good friends with is from Haven. And I uh… I know this might freak you out…"

_It's a stone, Ruby. It can't freak out._

_**Shut it.** _

"I… I have a boyfriend," Ruby admitted shyly, nudging a few larger grass stalks with her toe. I'll have to trim around here a little later… "He's from Haven. His friends are really nice too! And, and I'm sure you'll like him when you meet him, I mean, i-it was a little rough at first, you know, Yang being Yang, but she's really warming up to him!"

_She won't ever meet him, she's not even there._

_But it's the thought that counts._

_More like clinging to ghosts._

Ruby furrowed her brow. _Enough!_

"I just… I like him a lot, Mom," Ruby said as she sighed, one hand curled and grasping the front of her shirt. "Despite everything that happened to him… what he is… he's such a good person. He protects me, teaches me, he's— he's… he's Mercury. I don't know how else to describe it."

Her negative thoughts flew away, leaving her with a contented feeling of peace, the wind soft and calming. Just her and mom. Gazing off at the rising sun.

Mom always did love watching the sun rise and set… from this very spot.

"When I think about him leaving for Haven, I…" Ruby frowned again, blinking hard at the itchy feeling they suddenly had. "I don't know what I'm going to do. Mom… I think I might—"

Ruby cut herself off, kneeling down and placing her hand on Summer's stone. "I didn't tell him. I lied and I didn't tell him about Torchwick. I don't even know why I went to see him… I just, I want to help. But Mercury's been honest with me and now I'm the one keeping secrets and I feel horrible."

How was Mercury able to hold all that in for so long? He had his entire past as a secret to spill, and yet she had only one meeting that lasted hardly ten minutes as a secret, and she felt as if she was rotting on the inside. Was this what he felt? The inexplicable need to tell her about himself, only to be stricken with paralyzing fear over how she would respond to it?

Because that's what Ruby felt right now.

"I need to tell him, but I just don't know how." Heck, she told Nyx before she told him. Granted, the crazy ice cream lover was scaling Beacon Tower at the time, but still, she told her. Why couldn't she tell Mercury?

_Because he's overprotective._

_Mysterious._

_A really realllllly rough past._

_Probably some more baggage that he glanced over._

_She didn't know if he'd get angry at her._

_She didn't want him to be upset that she delayed telling him this long._

_And she— nooooo. Not that. You know what they would say to that, Ruby._

They'd say she's too young and stupid to understand the concept, say she has a lot more time to live and be a free spirit before that, but still, but still, there had to be _exceptions._

_Couldn't there be?_

"I-I think I might…"

_Say it, Ruby._

_No no, don't say it!_

_It's just you and Mom, you can tell her anything!_

_But you wouldn't lie to your Mom, would you?_

She didn't know if it was a lie though.

"I… I think I might lo—"

"BARK BARK!"

"Agh!" Ruby jolted from her kneeling position to glance back and see Dad and Zwei just underneath the cover of the tree, Dad standing tall while Zwei ran around in the leaves happily, trying to bite a few that were falling from their branches out of the air. _Guess it's time to go._

"That's Dad. He's taking me to the tournament before he goes off on another mission. He says it shouldn't take long, maybe a day or two… but I should get going. Wish me luck!" Ruby pulled up her hood, standing quickly before moving to run to Dad, only she stopped. Turning back to the stone, a small, misty smile crawled across her face. "It was nice to talk."

_I love you. I miss you._

Ruby jogged back to her father as her footsteps disturbed the black birds pecking at the grass, flying off the cliff and towards the sun. Taiyang smiled at his daughter, ready for the impending hug as Ruby sped towards him. As expected, Ruby slammed into his torso while winding her arms around him, and he laughed happily as he returned the hug.

"Hey Dad!"

"Hey there kiddo." Taiyang ruffled her hair and put a hand on her shoulder. "Ready to go?"

With a small nod, they began walking through the forest with Zwei trotting happily around them, tongue hanging out as he followed his master's every move. Ruby glanced up at her father with hopeful eyes, asking, "Can you stick around long enough to meet my friends?"

"I don't think so. I'm sorry, Ruby." Taiyang felt guilty at Ruby's sudden frown, and pulled her closer with an encouraging smile. "Why don't you tell me about them? I'm sure I can meet them after my mission."

"Well… you already know plenty about Weiss and Blake. And I already told you about JNPR."

"Ah, right. Hey, did Jaune and Pyrrha ever—"

"After some not so subtle prodding on everyone else's part as well as a nice threat that included Crescent Rose administered by his best friend," Ruby supplied cheekily.

"Good girl. And what about Ren and—"

"Nope."

"Thought so." Taiyang chuckled. "So, anyone else I don't know about?"

"Well… there's a couple teams from Haven. SSSN and CMEN. The rest of my team is probably closer than SSSN than I am though… Yang and Blake especially." _Shut your mouth, Ruby. Oh no, he has **that** look._

"Oh?" The curiosity in Taiyang's voice was palpable, as well as the protective father tone. "And why is that?"

"Weeeeeeelll…" Ruby suddenly feared for Neptune's safety. "Blake is dating Sun, the team leader. And Yang…"

Taiyang looked about ready to murder.

"Is dating Neptune."

"Ruby." Taiyang stopped them in the center of a clearing. "Do I need to murder this boy?"

Ruby giggled out of nervousness. "No. He's actually really sweet. Their first date consisted of flying through the air while rocketing toward a quartet of Nevermores."

"Oh. Lovely."

"And he's also really nice to me."

"Uh-huh."

Ruby narrowed her eyes. "Daaaaad, Neptune doesn't deserve any sort of curb stomping!"

"I didn't say anything of the sort."

"You were thinking it."

"…well." She had him there. "At least I still have you, huh Rubes?" He shook her side to side with a small smile.

_Uh-oh. To tell or not to tell?_

"T-There's also Mercury and Nyx! And-and Emerald!" Ruby blurted out, purposely leaving out Cinder as she hadn't interacted with the woman after their first encounter in the hallway. "Though, I'd say I'm closest with Mercury."

_Dodged it, but subtly hinting toward it. Close enough, right?_

"Yeah? I guess you spend more time with this other team compared to SSSN?"

"Mhm. Nyx has an unhealthy addiction to ice cream, Emerald and Mercury have a really venomous relationship yet act almost like siblings, and Mercury is the one that has to deal with Nyx's insanity the most," Ruby listed quickly, smiling fondly. "Actually, Merc and Nyx are teaching me self-defense!"

Taiyang blinked in surprise. "That's very nice of them. They sound like very nice girls."

"Huh? Mercury's not a…" Ruby trailed off at Taiyang's expression. It looked guarded suddenly, but she smiled nervously and finished her statement regardless, "Mercury's a boy."

"And you're closest with him, huh?"

_Uh-oh… overprotective dad is emerging…_

Ruby jumped in front of him suddenly and clasped her hands together. "And he's really nice and he protects me and he's been nothing but a gentleman and definitely definitely _definitely_ does not need to be subjected to interrogation!"

"Ruby…"

"Dad, didn't you always tell us to not judge people without having a conversation with them?" Ruby questioned in an attempt to save Mercury from Taiyang's wrath. _Jeez, now I know how Yang feels when dealing with Dad like this…_

"Just because I preach it doesn't mean I practice it, especially when it comes to my baby girl."

Ruby whined in annoyance as he pinched her cheek to lessen the blow, but she could tell he still didn't like what he was hearing. "Dad, really, Mercury's a really nice guy, I promise. I guarantee you'll like him when you meet him." Ruby leant towards him and nudged his side with her elbow. "He's even went up against Yang in a pun off."

"Well… that does take some guts." Taiyang was still scowling. "But Ruby… you're younger than everyone at Beacon. Is it really a good idea to get involved with… boys—" Taiyang looked as if he nearly gagged at the thought. "—right now?"

Ruby pursed her lips, feeling frustration bubbling up within her. This almost mirrored her original struggles with Yang, only Taiyang knew nothing of Mercury beyond 'he's a boy'. Determined, her silver eyes stared defiantly into her father's ocean blue eyes. "Dad, do you want me to be happy?"

He blinked in surprise. "Of course I do, Ruby."

"Well… Mercury makes me happy." She balled her hands on her hips as Taiyang frowned tightly.

"This conversation… is not over," Taiyang warned, wrapping an arm around her and tugging her along. "But I'm glad your happy… I just—" he inhaled deeply through his nose, cutting himself off. "—you know I'm going to have to talk to him when I get back."

"…please don't kill him?"

"I can promise that, but will your uncle be able to if he comes back first?"

Ruby's eyes widened, and she lunged for the lapels of his shirt. "Please come back first!"

Taiyang merely grinned at his daughter before walking on.

* * *

Normally, Mercury would be completely calm as he walked alongside Emerald. Due to their banter, he gained an odd sense of peace and belonging, almost as if they were two pieces of a puzzle locked together, just hanging on to each other amidst the harsh world surrounding them.

Today was different. Emerald was hard wired and jumpy as they strolled as casually as possible to the arena, and while Mercury himself schooled his expression and kept his emotions bundled within as he normally did, he couldn't help but be unnerved by his partner's behavior. The way her eyes lost their cutting, narrowed shape and were instead wide and smoothly curved made her look more so as fearful prey compared to the deceptive predator she was.

Mercury, of course, couldn't hold his agitation that built because of his own partner's lack of composure, and snapped lowly, "Can you at least try to not look like a startled mouse?"

Emerald blinked owlishly before scowling harshly and digging her elbow into his side briefly. "Sorry, jeez. Kinda hard to act calm when a Maiden with an attitude is hunting us," She whispered harshly.

"At least we know what she looks like." He made a pointed look to her scroll, where the picture of the golden haired woman resided.

Emerald growled agitate before dodging a few pedestrians stupidly standing in the middle of the large hall. "Well yeah, but according to Cinder she has a lot of aliases. Disguises. She could be anyone that we've interacted with. Hell, she could be Ruby."

"Ruby's far too short to be her," Mercury sighed through his response, glaring lightly at his partner.

"Yang then. She has the blonde hair, purple eye thing going for her. And she's about the same height."

"Shorter. Yang's got a inch or two on her," Mercury replied swiftly, carding through his memory and thinking back to the day they ran into her. The amount of fury in the Maiden's eyes was in all honesty fearful for even Mercury, and the way her eyes would flicker with a wicked amethyst imbued deep sent shivers down his spine.

It was a miracle Emerald managed to trick her mind long enough for them to escape, because the thundering power of her aura was bone shattering.

"Still, we can't rule her out."

"Yeah, we can." Mercury felt oddly defensive in dismissing the claim that Yang was the Summer Maiden. He supposed it had to be with her close connection with Ruby. "Yang's eyes are soft, rounded. She looks youthful. Summer's eyes are cut sharply, similar to Cinder's almost. The look of someone older. Also, Yang's eyes turn from lilac to red. Summer's eyes turn from a pale blue to amethyst. Different."

Emerald made a harrumph in response, and while it irked Mercury, he understood. It was odd being on the side without a plethora of data and observations to back them up, and not having all cards spread out before them was stressful, especially since they were helpless and couldn't take action against their stalker. As Mercury stated many a times before, he hated feeling helpless, and a whirlwind of doubts and questions bubbled in his mind.

Who was the Maiden in contact with? How did Cinder even find data pointing toward the Maiden's hunt for them? Was she close? Nearing Vale? Watching right now?

He drifted to more stressing questions. Has the Maiden taken note of the students they linger around? Has he put anyone at risk?

Has he put _Ruby_ at risk? _Idiotic question, he already has._ Has he put Ruby in even more danger? _Probably, with his luck._

"Do we know anything about her?" Mercury asked tiredly. Emerald must have noticed his sudden change in mood, either that or his momentary investigative inquiries to no one was visible on his face and she caught notice, since she awkwardly placed a hand on his arm, unsure of how to display any type of affection.

"From what I could get from Cinder, the Maiden is apparently from one of the clans in Vacuo. Laverna, I think the name was? Yeah. She ran away when she was in her later teens, about seven years ago. So, that would place her as either having graduating an academy already or about to. That's… about it." Emerald rubbed her temple aggravatedly. "Grr, this is really bad, Mercury."

"But it's a start," He said with narrowed eyes, feeling the pulse of the crowd as they exited the hallway and found themselves on the outer walkway of the arena. They made their way to the seats for students and sat in the second row, with Mercury hyper-aware of his surroundings.

"We should start checking out other teams, not just RWBY and the others. Need to be aware of everyone remotely near us."

"Is Cinder even concerned?"

"Surprisingly… no," Emerald admitted while she chewed at her lower lip. "She made that smirk before walking away."

"Where was she headed?"

"Uhh… it looked like she was headed toward Lynae's room. Why…?"

Mercury sighed. "She's looking for her."

Emerald stared at him blankly.

"Come on, you remember the talk Cinder gave to you all after Fall," Mercury recited in a hushed voice. "If we ever ran into another Maiden and had to fight, then we set precautions. If we won, then you would take Spring, Nyx would be Winter, and she is—"

"Summer!" Emerald finished in an airy voice, her memory coming back to her. "Shit. Shit—"

_"What's all this talk about seasons?"_

"Agh, shi— OW!" Emerald yelped as Mercury jabbed his rerebrace into her arm, glaring and rubbing the wounded skin gingerly. Mercury turned in his seat to find the face behind the voice.

"Oh… Rai, right?"

"You got it. Pleasure to see you again, Mercury." Rai Panther sunk into her seat directly behind them with a friendly smile, her green and gold eyes both glittering with interest. "Though I am curious as to what you two were conspiring about."

_:She heard about the seasons. What if she heard more?:_ Emerald broadcasted frantically through her semblance. Mercury held up two fingers, ensuring they were out of view of Rai and her team, hoping that Emerald would get the idea of what he was trying to say and act calm.

"Ah, just comparing our teammates to the seasons dependent on their personalities," Mercury crafted a lie swiftly, smirking lazily to sell it. "Emerald is spring because secretly, she's real lively and actually fun to be around, despite the cranky exterior."

"Asshole," Emerald grumbled.

"So… the three girls are accounted for. Does that make you Fall, Mercury?" Rai quirked a brow.

"Of course," Mercury replied easily. "Because I'm cool, but not frigidly cold like Nyx. As in… not 'Ice King' material." Besides, calling Weiss the Ice Queen ruined the moniker of King for him.

"No, you're more of a hipster douchebag," Emerald added with fake cheer.

"But I'm also cool."

Rai chuckled with uncertainty. "…Interesting? I think."

Panther's team came bustling down the steps a few moments later, and Mercury recognized the redhead right away as the girl in the coffee shop. Cherry Nereza was the name? He was fuzzy on the details; his mind wasn't exactly focused on acute descriptions at the time.

"There's my favorite girl," The faunus with ram horns bellowed before clapping his hands on Rai's shoulders and loudly kissing the top of her head. Rai seemed to cringe through the action and merely stared blankly ahead as he plopped into the seat just right of her. "Who're your friends?"

"Who's to say that one's just a friend?" A girl with an extremely short black dress and black, glittery, feathery boa wrapped around her neck purred as she sunk down on Rai's other side. "You might've lost her to that handsome fella, Ram."

"Come on guys, be nice," Cherry chided feebly as she stumbled to the chair beside the man supposedly named Ram.

"This is Mercury and Emerald," Rai growled through gritted teeth, fixing her fedora so it dipped slightly before her eyes. She then narrowed her eyes even further into slits and glared at Ram. "And he can't lose something he doesn't have."

"I'll get you to blush one day, Little Panther."

Rai visibly shuddered in disgust before turning her scowling face to Mercury and Emerald. "This is my team. The faunus on my right is Lake, the faunus on my left is Tempest, and the redhead is Cherry."

"Faunus…?" Emerald raised a brow at Tempest. "But you don't have a trait…?"

"Oh please don't, it's super creepy," Cherry pleaded suddenly, only to cower as Tempest grinned toothily at the girl.

Wordlessly, Tempest looked Emerald dead in the eyes before beginning to turn her head to the side. Then she kept turning… _and turning…_

And suddenly they were talking to the back of Tempest's head.

"I…I…" Emerald was gaping in horror while Mercury stared impassively (though secretly he was thoroughly creeped out).

Tempest completed her three-sixty degree turn of her head before rolling her shoulders and announcing proudly, "I'm an owl faunus. It's a great way to induce terror into my enemies. How do you do?"

"Can we _please_ just watch the match," Rai deadpanned while staring flatly at the maliciously grinning owl faunus. The sentence was spoken as a command and not a plea, and Tempest wiped the smile from her face before grumbling and fixing her electrifying yellow eyes towards the arena.

Mercury decided to do so as well, but not before throwing a look at Emerald. She herself had an equally dumbfounded expression, and he again wiped his face of emotion and focused on the arena.

_:We should check Rai Panther, just to be sure:_

Mercury frowned lightly before tapping Emerald's hand, hoping that she'd get the unspoken words behind the action. _Discuss later._

It was Ruby's first fight in the arena, after all. He wouldn't be a good boyfriend if he missed it over him gawking at a faunus's ability.

* * *

Ruby kept her head on a constant swivel, checking periodically on all her teammates. Being the sniper of the group had its perks, but she really wanted to jump into the fray and swing her scythe around a bit.

Blake disappeared around an icy corner, no doubt intending to trick Reese into a well placed trap, and her prediction proved true a moment later as Professor Port announced her ring-out status. She smirked cheekily, inwardly proud of Blake's successful, cunning plan.

She fired a few shots at another member of Team ABRN while shouting to Yang, "Got your back!"

"But who has yours?"

Ruby turned just in time to see Weiss kick Bolin Hori through a few gravity glyphs, the poor huntsman in training flying off and scraping his bare arms against volcanic rock. Ruby was quick to stand and exclaim giddily, "My BFF!"

Weiss scowled. "No."

"Don't deny me, my love!" Ruby wailed theatrically, earning a groan from the ice queen who was sprinting toward Bolin while shouting back something akin to _'save that line for Mercury'_ , to which Ruby promptly blushed.

Weiss formed a glyph behind her and stayed stone-faced as Ruby ran forward and was launched in the air, firing off her scythe and flipping rapidly before her weapon collided with Bolin's staff. The rocks around them sprung upward from the amount of force Bolin took, yet the man himself stood firm with both hands gripping either side of the staff and holding it horizontally to block Ruby's attack.

Ruby felt herself growling before actually processing what she intended to do next, and fired her weapon again, twirling backwards and taking note that Bolin was thrown slightly backward by the force. She grinned.

_Let's see how those lessons have been working!_

Unlike Mercury and Yang's Brute strength approach, Ruby had to go for a quite different style. Her punches were pitiful, but there were ways to at the very least immobilize an enemy with the tactic she was about to use.

Ruby swung her scythe backwards and fired again, propelling her body straight towards Bolin, who was holding the staff up for another block. She swiftly folded her weapon up and secured it on the small of her back before reaching out her hands and seizing the staff in her grasp. Bolin's surprise was evident on his face, and she twirled her body around and readjusted the placement of her hands before slamming her feet into Bolin's mid-back, eliciting a pained choke from the man.

"Full speed, Weiss!" Ruby yelled as she pushed her feet further into his back and pulled on the staff with all her weight, practically forcing the staff to Bolin's neck.

Weiss twirled her rapier before holding it in perfect form and speeding forward with the aid of her glyphs, gliding forward at a dizzying rate. At the last second, Ruby swung herself upwards again and released the staff, watching upside-down as Weiss' rapier hit Bolin right in the chest and sent him back into the ice biome.

As Ruby landed in a crouch behind Weiss, Professor Port's voice boomed over the speakers, "An impressive display of teamwork by Miss Rose and Miss Schnee!"

"Yes yes indeed, very impressive! I've also learned Miss Rose is a prodigy at the horizontal bar in gymnastics!" Oobleck added, causing Ruby to giggle.

"Those lessons are treating you well," Weiss stated before whisking away to battle again.

Aaaaaand she blushed again. It takes a lot for Weiss to actually dish out a compliment.

Shaking that free of her mind, she sped back into battle, witnessing Weiss use her ice dust to capture the two men of ABRN in a rolling ice boulder and gaping at an admittedly impressive show of strength by Arslan as she shattered said condensed ball of ice with just the heel of her palm.

And with the three teens all bundled together after that, Ruby smiled cheekily.

_"Avengers, assemble!"_

"Enough with these cheap movie references!" Weiss whined as she formed a curved ramp of ice with her rapier.

"Hey! Respect the Red Ranger, White!" Ruby shouted back jokingly, watching as Yang skid on the ice and Blake threw her Gambol Shroud in its pistol form.

"Ugh."

Ruby didn't reply as Blake was running in close, and she unfurled her scythe just in time for Blake to leap on. Ruby made a small hop as she fired her weapon, sending Blake flying as Yang followed close. The three members of ABRN turned just to see Blake pull hard on her weapon and for Yang to come rocketing toward them, screaming in delight as she reared back her fist and, as she landed, slammed said fist into Arslan's stomach. They were so close together that Arslan's body almost fused with the other two, and in a conjoined, spinning mess of limbs, the last hope of ABRN zoomed right into a formation of burn crystals, ending the round in a plethora of fireworks.

"And Team RWBY is the winner!"

"YES!"

* * *

It wasn't long before Ruby found herself pouting, the adrenaline of her win squashed by her loss as her sister utterly crushed her in a silly carnival game.

"Woo! Take that ya pirate!" Yang bellowed as she aimed her plastic gun and knocked one of the flimsy pirate cutouts down with a rubber bullet. "Not in my ocean!"

Glaring disdainfully at her own piece of red plastic, she growled before aiming at the head of a small Beowulf cutout, her aim true as the rubber bullet pinged the Grimm right in the eyes.

The metal stand wavered but didn't fall as the pirate did, and Ruby yipped in astonishment.

"What is this sorcery?!"

"No sorcery about it, dearest sister," Yang purred teasingly, using her last bullet to terminate the Grimm that she just shot dead— or, she should say, tried to —and placed the gun carefully on its rickety stand. "Maybe this game just isn't for you."

_"But I shot it in the face!"_

"Indeed, but don't worry, Rubes — I finished 'em off for ya."

The smug yet adoring look on Yang's face infuriated Ruby even further, her pout deepening and the storm cloud thundering above her brow. Slamming her toy gun a little too forcefully in its slot, she marched to stand back by Weiss and Blake, who looked mildly frustrated and extremely amused respectively.

"You saw that right? The game is—"

"Rigged. Yes, yes it is, Ruby. It is a carnival game, after all," Weiss replied haughtily with her nose upturned, as if the idea of playing such a game was above her standard. "They are _designed_ to fail you."

"And yet, here I walk away with a prize," Yang shot back as she joined the trio, an ocean blue bear with pale yellow ribbon tied around the neck tucked under her arm. She treated it with utmost care, vastly different to her brusque style. "And do I hear a hint of bitterness in your tone, Ice Queen?"

Weiss scoffed, but a flash of vulnerability passed over her ice blue eyes before it disappeared under her mask of indifference. "Clearly that tumble on the ice did more damage to your brain than first thought."

"Bah, Arslan hits like a fairy. No damage whatsoever."

"She did shatter a densely packed block of solid ice, you know," Blake reminded them blandly.

Yang's answer was merely a twinkling grin and a sly wink in the cat faunus' direction.

Her annoyance from before lessened slightly at the playful demeanor of her sister. Anyone who knew Ruby and Yang could tell one without question how competitive they were in trivial games. From board to virtual games, from smarting vocal jabs to full on brawls, they lived for playful rivalry that sometimes sent Ruby into adorable pouts… or, alternatively, sent Yang into a red hazed fury.

All harmless, sincerely.

After a few more games consisting of popping balloons with darts, scoring as many net shots with miniature basketballs as possible in a minute, and aiming water guns that ultimately turned into spraying her golden haired sister in all her fiery fury, Team RWBY was spent. Ruby's stomach grumbles in protest for being neglected for so long, and a long look of understanding between the four was made.

"So, food time now?" Ruby proposed.

"Food time," Yang concluded, lilac eyes searching for the perfect stall. "Ah! I know! Follow me, guys!"

As Yang trudged forward with a sway of her hips with Blake and Weiss following after, Ruby lagged behind just a bit. Her silver eyes never ceased to be awed by the bountiful colors and displays of camaraderie and joy in the festival. It just felt so good to experience something lighthearted, something so freeing after dealing with mysterious masked women and a complex, dapper man with a bowler hat and cane. Although it lurked in her mind, it felt nice to push it back to the depths of her mind for a while.

As if a distraction was summoned to steer her thoughts away from the darker, villainously heavy case she was dealt, a warm, familiar arm encircled her waist and brought her to lean against a firm body, another arm swooping down and holding a beautiful red rose before her, just shy of tickling her nose. Underneath the poignant smell of the flower, she detected oil and machinery, a smell she has grown accustomed and welcoming toward.

"A rose for my Rose," Mercury murmured, pressing a gentle kiss to the skin just under her ear. Ruby squirmed at the feeling, her heart fluttering and lips fighting back a girlishly adorable smile.

"Hey," Ruby replied shyly as she craned her head to look at him, humming contentedly as Mercury slid the stem of the rose behind her ear. Elation bubbling through her, she managed to turn herself around and throw her arms around him in the strongest hug she could muster.

He chuckled fondly, straightening so her feet suddenly dangled, her arms around his neck and his hands on her waist keeping her in the air. "So, I happened to witness some rather impressive hand to hand down in that arena."

A scarlet blush formed across her cheeks and nose, feeling bashful yet proud all at once. "I believe I might know what you're talking about."

"Hmm."

"Oh, so _that's_ what happened to Ruby," Yang bellowed knowingly, the trio having turned around and spotted the couple. "Gotta say Merc, you keep stealing her away from us and I might just consider it a kidnapping next time."

"I'm not a kid," Ruby retorted reflexively.

"And I'm willing to take that risk," Mercury added, letting Ruby slide back down to touch the ground before curling his arms possessively over her shoulders and across her collarbone. Ruby laughed at the action and leaned into him, tilting her head upwards to look at him.

"The new version of a Prince Charming. How… quaint," Weiss worded carefully, arching a brow at the assassin, who merely smirked and winked right back.

"The remix is welcomed eventually." Mercury shrugged before sincerity crossed his face. "All serious though, you guys did great against ABRN. Didn't know what hit them."

"Pretty sure they got an idea of what smashed into them," Blake commented as Yang smashed her fists together with a smirk.

A light chuckle escaped him, Ruby's form being jostled slightly by the action. "Of course. I assume you've already decided who's moving to doubles?"

"Well, as team leader I have decided—"

"We put it to a vote," Weiss interjected with a finger pointed upward.

"Uh-ha-bah and by that vote that I decided to initiate—" Ruby glared briefly at Weiss who remained unaffected "—We decided to move Yang and Weiss forward."

"And it is an honor to represent Team RWBY as well as Beacon Academy," Weiss continued.

"Yeah, we're gonna kick some butt!" Came Yang's improper addition.

Mercury merely grinned at the rambunctious blonde.

"And you?" Blake interjected, gaining his attention. "How did your team do?"

Mercury thought back to Team WILW's utter demolition, including a rather gruesome curb-stomping by Neo and burned skin by the ever subtle Cinder. The only one who put up any real fight was the team leader appropriately named Willow, whom put up a surprisingly skilled defense with a combination of her semblance and quick thinking against them, but she too was eventually dispatched by Emerald and Mercury's ruthless efficiency.

Easy pickings.

"Eh… we did average. But you better watch out, Sun Dragon. Just because you're this little cherub's big sis doesn't mean Em and I will go easy on you should we meet in the doubles round." Mercury pinched Ruby's cheek for emphasis, earning an indignant squawk and a swat at his hand that missed.

He knew he wouldn't meet Yang and Weiss on the battlefield with Emerald, but the look of righteous indignation that came across the Ice Queen's face and the thrill of a challenge that snaked across Yang's was far too amusing to resist observing.

"Oh, I'm hoping we meet," Yang proclaimed, just as he expected she would. "It's not every day that I get to absolutely crush my little sister's boyfriend, despite how charming he may act."

"I _am_ quite charming."

"And not at all self-absorbed," Blake drolled with a teasing smile.

"Precisely."

Ruby wriggled in futility in his grasp, suddenly anxious. "Come on, I'm starving! Let's get something to eat!"

Quick as a light flickering off, Mercury released her and began strolling slowly toward the stand Yang was aiming for, A Simple Wok, holding a red wallet filled with lien between his fingers. "I suppose you need this, don't you Gem?"

Ruby spluttered indignantly, "Did you just steal my wallet?!"

She could practically feel the devilish smirk he sent to her, and her eyes narrowed with seething fury. Determined, Ruby ran forward and leapt up onto his back, grasping for the small square of leather.

"Give it back!"

"Nah, this is far more amusing." Mercury could barely withhold a chuckle as Ruby balanced precariously on his shoulders, hands grasping at his wrist but not quite reaching the wallet. "Oh, you almost got it that time!"

Ruby growled angrily, but before she could say anything a gloved hand snatched the wallet right out of Mercury's grip. "You know Merc, maybe you shouldn't mess with your girlfriend when big sis is just to your right."

Emerald waggled her finger before Mercury's nose as Nyx hopped down from Emerald's shoulders and presented Ruby's wallet to the owner, who happily accepted it and hugged the smaller girl. "Thanks Nyx, Em!"

"No problem, Ruby," Emerald said as she smirked at Mercury's expression.

_{it's our job, Ruby. You know how it goes, chicks versus d—}_

"Ahh I'm not reading the rest of that!" Ruby squealed, hopping backwards and into a familiar chest piece. She whirled around. "Hey Jaune!"

Yang, in the meantime, leaned over to read Nyx's scroll and nodded in agreement, smirking and fist-bumping the ice cream lover. "Damn right."

"You all going to get some food?" Nora exclaimed giddily as she pranced in front of Ruby. "I know my stomach's a-grumblin'!"

"While that does sound like a wonderful idea," Pyrrha began in her regal yet empathetic tone. "Wouldn't it be safer to wait until after our match to eat a big meal?"

Nora stared eerily at Pyrrha for a moment before hastily gripping the neckline of Jaune's hoodie and tearing him down to her level. "What have you been telling her?!"

"Nor-ora I— can't breathe—"

"And in order to breathe we need food in our bellies!" Nora shrieked, causing all of the onlookers to wince and rub at their ears gingerly. "A hearty meal can do nothing but help!"

"B-But—"

"Don't argue with me mister!"

"GAH!"

Pyrrha edged around her suffocating team leader with an apologetic smile, turning towards Ruby and placing a comforting arm on her shoulder. "I'd like to congratulate your team on your success, Ruby. As Mercury surely told you, it was impressive."

"Thanks Pyrrha!" Ruby beamed up at the redhead, always giddy to have the Amazon warrior's praise. Something about Pyrrha reminded her of an almost motherly influence around her, and it was a nice and distantly familiar feeling. "I'm sure you'll be awesome in your match!"

Pyrrha laughed. "We shall see."

"Well, almost all the gang is here," Yang spoke suddenly from behind Ruby, hands placed on her hips and mouth pulled into a small frown. "If SSSN would pick up the pace…"

"Relax Yang, you'll be able to give Neptune that bear soon enough," Blake interrupted with a knowing grin, seeing the blonde, surprisingly, blush slightly before pushing it down and turning towards the food stall.

"To food then!"

Ruby smiled brightly before bouncing over to the cluster of three consisting of Mercury, Nyx and Emerald and winding her arms through Nyx's right arm and Emerald's left. "Will you guys join us? I know Merc's up for it."

Mercury shrugged before winking at the silver eyed girl. "Free food sounds good."

Nyx stuck her tongue out at him before nodding happily and looking expectantly at Emerald, which Ruby quickly mirrored. Emerald looked like she was about to decline, but Ruby's puppy eyes, Nyx's malicious smile, and the expectant gaze of Mercury caused her to slump her shoulders and sigh. "Fine."

"Yes!" Ruby released both girls before latching onto Mercury's hand and dragging him to the food stall, calling to the rest of her friends. "There's no time to waste!"


	23. Kudos to Kuros

"Ugh, how did you even eat half of that on your own?" Mercury questioned with a groan as he rested his elbow on the counter of the noodle shop.

"Uh, hello?" Yang held up her right arm and flexed her muscles. "I need lots of food to give power to these babies. Besides, Ruby and I go to this vendor all the time. We're professionals at demolishing noodles."

"That meal was rather… filling!" Pyrrha said cheerfully from beside Jaune and Nora while rubbing her stomach gingerly. "I do dread the upcoming match however…perhaps we should have gone a similar route as Ruby and Mercury and simply shared a meal?" She proposed thoughtfully to her team.

"Ahem. I was _forced_ to share," Ruby announced petulantly as she leant against Mercury. "I didn't even get a proper seat!"

Mercury merely smirked and wound his arm around her tighter. Ruby, in turn, tried to look behind her and glare at the smug assassin.

Not long after practically dragging Mercury after her team, seating arrangements were a frenzy of jostling and clumsy communication. Since they were all impatiently expecting Team SSSN and there was a total of twelve seats along the counter, they had to improvise. Yang and Blake automatically took to sharing a seat at the rightmost seat on the front of the vendor, with Blake on the left side of the seat and Yang on the right, and Weiss promptly took the seat beside the two. Emerald had positioned herself on the leftmost seat at the front counter, leaving a seat between her and Weiss, and on the left side of the vendor Jaune, Pyrrha, Nora and Ren sat in that order. Lastly, while flashing Mercury a rather smug look, Neo pushed him into the seat between Emerald and Weiss before seizing Ruby and lifting her up with surprising ease, and despite the silver eyed girl's yelp of protest, plopped her right in Mercury's lap.

Ruby of course started stuttering awkwardly in her embarrassment as her team snickered and Pyrrha raised an eyebrow and placed a suggestive smile on her face, and Mercury, completely smug about his small girlfriend's predicament, wound his arms around her waist and hooked his chin over her shoulder.

Which brought them to the present.

"It's better than being sat on," Emerald grumbled in response to Ruby as she had the pleasure of being forcefully used as Neo's chair, who was swinging her legs idly as her bright green eyes twinkled. Emerald then used her semblance to communicate with Mercury. :I have a psychopath in my lap, please help:

Mercury smirked at the ice cream girl. "Don't worry Em, once Scarlet gets here she'll pounce on him." He jerked himself and Ruby to the right slightly as a skilled kick from the short girl was sent in their direction. "Woah, careful! You don't want to hurt Little Gem here, do you?"

"Using your girlfriend as collateral. Nice." Emerald rolled her eyes.

"Eh, she's a good bargaining chip," Mercury teased, pressing his nose into Ruby's hair as she squawked indignantly.

Before Ruby could make any retort, Yang leaned around Blake and made a contemplative face at him. "And your torso looks like a fantastic potential punching bag."

"It is well defined and very sturdy," Mercury replied, unperturbed.

"Oh by Oum," Ruby murmured as she palmed her forehead. "You're in a cocky mood today."

Weiss scoffed beside them. "Like he isn't always."

And she's in a bitter mood. Mercury rolled his eyes at the white haired princess, but any irritation he felt towards her was quelled as Ruby skimmed her fingers over the back of his hands. Out of all the students, Weiss is the only one he hasn't really grown fond of, but for Ruby he would at the very least try to play nice.

"Ice," Mercury addressed her. "Quit beating yourself up about the whole credit card thing, we're all friends here." Yeah, quit crying about not getting your twenty five thousand dollar allowance.

Weiss pursed her lips together before darting her cool blue gaze to the counter top, cheeks tinged with embarrassment. Pyrrha cleared her throat slightly.

"Weiss, really, it was an honor to pay for our lunch today. You and the rest of Team RWBY have gone far beyond the expectations set and deserve to be rewarded." Pyrrha smiled kindly as Weiss glanced up. "After all, having a nice meal and competing against students our age is a walk in the park compared to sleepless nights and battling… well, murderers."

_You have no idea, Pyrrha._ Despite the slight twinge of guilt in his gut, he felt himself smiling as Ruby brushed her fingers across his arms again, almost as if she's saying I know and that's not who you are. He unconsciously tightened his grip.

"I suppose you're correct," Weiss admitted with only a slight sulk. "It's nice to just… relax and forget for just a bit."

"Forget?" Ruby blinked, peeking up slightly as her hands stilled on Mercury's arm. "While it's nice to have lower stakes, we can't forget what else is out there. We may have captured Torchwick, but that doesn't mean the entire operation is halted. Yeah, we can enjoy everything, but we can't forget why we're here… and what we as huntsmen and huntresses are supposed to do." Ruby became shy as she saw ten pairs of eyes staring at her, her cheeks reddening slightly. "I'm just saying we can have fun, but we have to be ready."

A long silence ensued, and Mercury looked on with a smirk at the back of Ruby's head. While he secretly was one of those people within the operation she wanted to dismantle, her words were inspiring and humbling to her friends all at once, and Mercury could tell that just by taking a look around. He reached up and pinched Ruby's cheek a moment later, chuckling slightly.

"Well now, it sounds like our little seedling is growing into a rose, isn't she?"

"Hey!" Ruby smacked his hand away, face flushing quickly as the rest of the group joined in on the teasing and made cooing noises while smiling brightly. Yang stood up and suffocated Ruby in a strong hug, and in turn pulled Mercury into it due to her position. "Yaaaaaang!"

"Okay, suffocating," Mercury mentioned blandly as he got a face full of unruly golden hair. "Never thought I would fear a hug, but—" He cut himself off as Yang smacked the side of his head without releasing him nor Ruby. "Ow?"

"Shut it, pretty boy," Yang snapped playfully, snickering at the insulted look on Mercury's face. "Oh come on now, you've been asking for it all day."

Mercury scowled before muttering to Emerald, "Damn bimbo."

"You little—" Yang reared back her fist, but Mercury swiveled on the chair and held Ruby out in front of him, winking over the redhead's shoulder to the fiery big sister. Yang shot him an unimpressed look. "You know, I can't wait to tell Dad about how you use Ruby as a shield."

"I expect nothing less."

"Anyway," Yang said loudly, turning to Ruby with a much friendlier look. "I'm so proud of you, Rubes! You're growing up so fast!"

As Yang pinched Ruby's cheeks, the silver eyed girl whined, "Yaaaaang."

"Heh, sorry sis! It's imperative that I, as your big sister, embarrass you in front of our friends."

"Grr…" Ruby glared deeply at her sister before looking over Yang's shoulder and getting a smug look. "Is that Neptune shirtless?"

Yang scoffed. "That's weak, little sis."

"Uh, she's not lying," Mercury added with his best poker face.

"Yeah, because your word would convince me over Ruby's." Yang rolled her eyes, but looked slightly doubtful. The couple just stared at Yang until she eventually palmed her forehead in defeat and turned around… only to jump back in a yelp and nearly crush Ruby and Mercury as she found Neptune hardly a foot away.

"Not shirtless, but Ruby wasn't lying completely," Neptune remarked smugly as he looked on at his girlfriend's predicament. "Doing okay there, guys?"

"You know, I was okay with Ruby, but Yang on my lap is a little much," Mercury commented with a strained voice as he and Ruby practically pushed Yang off them both. "Took you guys a while to get here."

"Merc, my man." Sun clapped a friendly hand on Mercury's shoulder, grinning widely. "It takes a while to perfect this. You should know." Sun laughed as Mercury swatted his hand off his shoulder with an equally friendly grin. The monkey faunus then nudged Ruby. "How are ya, Rose?"

"Pretty good, Wukong," Ruby said with a small laugh.

A sudden bustle of movement beside Mercury and Ruby was heard, and Mercury didn't even have to turn to know who else turned up. "Having fun, Scarlet?"

Scarlet rolled his eyes with a slight smile as he walked over to a seat with Neo on his back, the ice cream fanatic sticking her tongue out at Mercury and smacking him upside the head as she and Scarlet passed by. Emerald made a contemplative noise.

"You know, for once I'm glad you're right," She admitted.

"Sorry we're late, I can only do so much with these three idiots," Sage said apologetically as he strolled up alongside his teammates, plopping heavily in the seat beside Scarlet and Neo.

Neptune grinned as he threw one arm around Weiss and Yang. "Yeah, we gave Mom a little trouble per usual, it's a requirement before starting a day."

Sage looked anything but amused at the jab about being the team's mom and his jade eyes locked on a glass of water. He lurched forward, grabbed the glass, and splashed the water towards Neptune, who retracted from Weiss and Yang quickly and jumped back in a jumble of flailing limbs.

" _Ah-HAH-HA! AH!_ " Neptune nearly wiped out, tripping over his own feet before just barely recovering and ducking his head with his hands on his hips.

Sun looked on with an extremely disappointed look, sighing as he crossed his arms. "…Dude."

"Shut up!"

"Are you…?" Pyrrha began.

"Shhhh!"

"Yes," Blake, Sun, Scarlet and Yang all chorused.

"Wait, really?" Jaune's voice reached a high pitch that caught everyone's attention. "You have aquapho—"

"Shhh, shh-shh!" Neptune darted over quickly and clamped a hand over Jaune's mouth, ocean blue eyes wide as he tried to keep a semblance of his pride. "Just… shhhh."

"By Oum, you're such a nerd," Yang muttered.

"INTELLECUTAL!"

"Neptune, my ears," Mercury complained as he rubbed his ear tentatively. "I'd rather not go deaf."

"Are… are they like this all the time?" Emerald asked Mercury quietly, looking too confused to be annoyed.

"Welcome to insanity, Em," Mercury replied.

Emerald rolled her eyes half-heartedly, tapping her fingers on the countertop. She cast another illusion, and he could hear her voice. _:You know, they're idiocy is kind of… endearing. I can see why you like hanging out with them:_

Mercury was surprised to hear that, and he arched his brow at her with a barely there smile, broadcasting a wordless question. _Oh? Are they growing on you too, Emerald?_

_:Shut up, Mercury:_

His expression changed to a smug expression of 'I didn't say anything'.

_:You don't have to say anything, I know you too well by now. I know what you're thinking and you're wrong:_

Emerald put on a small scowl and crossed her arms to try and convey her seriousness over the hallucinated statement, but Mercury knew a forced expression when he saw one. It made him happy, knowing that Ruby and her friends were cracking Emerald's icy core that she tried so hard to keep frigid. He liked seeing his friend happy and actually enjoying herself in a healthy environment as compared to her delusioned elation with Cinder.

It would make his decision about sides a lot easier if his best friend went with him.

And there it was again, the idea planted in the back of his mind by Neo of all people. At first he could hardly fathom it, but now the idea seemed to appeal to him more and more. But really? How could he leave? Cinder has an entire crime network, it would be near impossible to switch sides without at least ten guns pointing at his back.

And after all, it's not like he wanted to be a good guy. Morals never really meant much to him, and he was never conscious of how his actions, all the death and destruction, affected people. But now… Ruby became his conscience. When she felt horrible, he felt horrible. When she felt love for someone, he would be more tolerant, actually take the time to look at the person before him and not just observing tactics, fighting styles, and overall psyche. He wanted her to be happy more than anything, wanted her to be safe.

He wanted to protect her against the world. But, ironically enough, the most dangerous place for her to be is where she is right now, in his arms.

So would turning good really benefit in the end? His presence would continue to only act as a poison, presenting new enemies and new dangers. Ruby's safety wouldn't be guaranteed.

He felt a headache coming on, and tried to focus on the people around him. He heard Yang and Neptune talking just to his right:

"So… do you like it?" Yang asked hopefully.

Neptune had the blue bear that Yang won in his hands, admiring it with a slight smirk. "I think it represents our relationship perfectly. I'm the blue bear, and you're the yellow scarf that tries to strangle me when I piss you off."

Yang laughed, leaning into him. "Exactly!"

Looking past the couple, he could see Sage arguing with Neo while Scarlet tried to keep her still:

"No, not after what happened last time," Sage said sternly, leaning backward as Neo lurched forward and shoved her scroll into his face.

"No harm done— are you serious?! Last time you demanded one of us arm wrestle you, the table broke!"

"Stop being such a Mum, Sage," Scarlet teased.

And lastly, after hearing Oobleck order Team JNPR to make their way to the arena, Nora began ranting about their possible loss while her face lost more and more color:

"Don't be so nervous! The worst that can happen is we lose, that is just a few more years of walking around school with everyone knowing we're failures, our friends will slowly abandon us to preserve their social status, we won't be able to show our faces in class, no one will sit with us in the cafeteria, Ren and I have no parents, we have no home left to go to, we'll be officially renamed Team Lose-iper!" Nora punctuated her long rant with over exaggerated sobs and slammed her forehead onto the counter with a painful thwack.

"...So, yeah," Ren said after a moment, unperturbed as usual. "We're feeling pretty good."

"Oh, don't fret. Let's just look forward to a murderer free match," Pyrrha reminded them cheerfully. "Just remember, let's work as a team, give it our all, and uhm…" Pyrrha put a comforting hand on Jaune's back as he groaned. "Aim all projectiles at the enemy… Jaune, I mean all projectiles."

"Loud and clear," Jaune moaned.

Emerald snorted out a laugh and looked over to Mercury, ready to make a light jab towards the team, only to stop and look on in confusion. Mercury wasn't focused on the conversation anymore, instead locked on a figure that became visible once Nora slammed her head down. Some sunglasses and a change of clothing didn't fool him.

Just two stalls away Lynae was watching.

She had a newspaper in her hand, and was looking down at it with a bored expression. Black aviators were on her head, with her blue eyes squinted slightly. Her cloak was discarded for a dark grey shawl, and she wore black jeans tucked into ankle boots. No emblem, no sign of her weapons, and her inky black hair that transitioned into a dark blue was let down from its ponytail. But he knew her wings were hidden under that shawl, and her semblance was without a doubt primed in case of emergency.

_:Merc? What's wrong?:_

He didn't respond to Emerald, but he turned away as Lynae glanced up with her electric blue eyes. He hid himself with Ruby's hair, peeking from the very corner of his eye to make sure she wouldn't move. Mercury wasn't even thinking, just moved on autopilot, slipping into his persona for recon, aloof, uncaring, expressionless.

He wouldn't underestimate her again.

"Merc, are you coming with to watch—" Ruby cut herself off as she twisted in his arms and noticed the tension radiating off him, the blank look on his face. She touched his cheek gingerly. "Hey, what's wrong?"

Mercury made a split second decision before pressing his lips practically to her ear and whispering, "Keep smiling."

He could tell Ruby was perturbed by the sudden order but she smiled regardless and asked quietly through her teeth, "Mercury, tell me what's going on. Please?"

"Lynae is watching," He said, smoothing a hand over her back as she tensed up. "Stay with Emerald and Nyx. Don't let them follow me. I'm going over to her."

"B-But what if she uses her semblance again and—"

"Gem, you need to trust me," Mercury interrupted her, keeping one eye on Lynae as they talked. The faunus was getting ready to leave. "I'm not letting her get to you again. She won't try anything here, especially with me tailing her. Just… don't go anywhere alone until I'm sure she's gone, okay?"

"I won't, but… Mercury…" Ruby trailed off as Mercury lifted her up so he could stand and placed her in his seat, adjusting the rose tucked behind her ear and staring warmly at her for a fleeting moment. He then moved past her, walking to Emerald and placing a hand on her arm and dipping down to her ear for a moment. "Stay with Ruby."

He stayed long enough to see her nod ever so slightly, and moved to pass by Team JNPR. Pyrrha frowned as he passed.

"Is everything alright, Mercury?"

Mercury nodded distractedly, eyes jumping between Pyrrha and Ruby as he replied hurriedly, "Yeah, just forgot something. I'll be back."

He kept moving, ignoring any curious looks his way as he watched Lynae's shawl disappear around the corner. She must've noticed him spot her.

He placed his hands behind his head as he slid between crowds of people and turned the corner Lynae just went, seeing her not far from him. She walked in her brisk strut, quick steps with her hair swishing in the slight breeze. With her fair skin, tantalizing electric blue eyes, and modest clothes, she could easily be mistaken as a harmless citizen. She dressed smart.

As he followed Lynae through the confusing mess of carnival games, trinket kiosks and food stalls, he had to shake his head in annoyance at the amount of unknowns that were piling up on his plate. He missed being in the loop. Now he had an even thicker blindfold on concerning Cinder's agenda, had to worry about the nameless Maiden, and now Lynae is back in action. He just couldn't get a break!

Maybe it would deter her if I just chopped those damn wings off, Mercury thought cruelly, feeling the inner stirrings of excitement deep in his gut. The dull roar of Marcus' approval rang distantly in his head, but a soft, new voice rang stronger.

_::Mercury, you need to control your memories, not the other way around. Don't let him win::_

The broil deep in his gut dimmed, and the imaginary scent of rose petals and strawberries calmed him. Don't act before thinking. When fighting for Ruby's safety, he couldn't use the same brusque strategy he normally did, not like when he acted on Cinder's orders. The path he was thinking on crossing over to was more… delicate, than he was used to.

They were getting close to the treeline, and he saw Lynae's eyes flash over to his just for a moment. Imbedded deep within was anger, hatred, annoyance. She wanted him dead, wanted all of them dead. All because of what he did.

Just as Lynae weaseled her way through the brush separating the fairgrounds from the forest, someone barreled into Mercury's side. He felt a growl deep in his throat, shoving the man apologizing off him with a huff, not even looking his way. _Where was Lynae going?_

"Hey, sorry man— woah, hey wait a sec, Mercury!"

Much to the silver haired teen's annoyance, he felt the man snag his arm and he whipped around to see Rama Lake grinning at him, though the grin was quickly lost at Mercury's expression. After a second of glaring at the hand on his arm, Rama dropped the limb and spoke with less enthusiasm.

"Hey man, have you seen Panther anywhere? She keeps vanishing on us!"

"No."

"Oh… uh, h-hey, wait!"

Mercury shook his head as he wrestled through the brush, not caring what Rama thought of him. He kept an ear out to ensure he wasn't following him, and glanced back for just a moment to see that Tempest had joined him, both looking at him oddly. He huffed a breath in annoyance, not caring enough to try and keep up appearances. His loyalty was up in the air anyway, so what did it matter?

He couldn't see Lynae anymore, but the slight indents in the fresh, dew-dripped grass and the disturbed brambles hanging low between the trees was enough to give him a path. Once the fairgrounds were hidden from the forest, he began sprinting, trying to minimize the crunch from the blades of grass underneath his steel feet.

Distantly, he heard metal clash against metal, and he frowned deeply, firing off his boots to propel himself further faster, stopping right before the treeline broke. He placed his palms flat on the rough bark of a tree and peered around it, seeing a clearing that led to a dip in the earth.

_Huh. Fairgrounds are on a large hill._

But that wasn't the most interesting part. Lynae was fighting with a girl clad in black and gold, a color scheme that was familiar to him. A fedora on the ground just a few feet from him. Rai Panther.

Rai was ferociously attacking Lynae with twin hand fans with razor sharp, curved blade edges, the decorative part of the fans being a solid black with rich purple swirls overlaying it. Overtop of the swirls and the solid black, right in the center of both hand fans, were gold Fleur De Lis's, vastly different from her other symbol, the golden panther head on her gloves.

Lynae was defending with her glaive, a smug smirk on her face as she flipped and dodged out of the way. But there was something plastic about that smirk… and as Mercury looked closer… Lynae looked to be struggling against Rai.

While he knew he could easily beat Lynae in a one on one fight, he knew she was no pushover. He had wrote off before that Rai was just another oblivious student, but seeing her move, effortlessly pressing against Lynae and putting her in the defensive… maybe she should have been evaluated long ago.

Lynae took flight with her wings, Tisiphone in her hands as she fired with chilling accuracy at the dual wielding huntress in training. Rai sliced the bullets in half lightning fast, somersaulting backwards a few times before folding her fans. The fan in her left hand was thrown upward in the air, the bulky, round handle sliding up as the fan's blade and body morphed into a gun barrel and handle. He blinked as a revolver was the product of such a thin and delicate weapon, but then realized the entire fan must've been metal instead of paper mache. As she caught her revolver, the fan in her right hand folded so the bulky grip of the fan became a gold stained handle for a crooked dagger, almost resembling a miniature sickle as the black blade with purple and gold mixed within curved in an arch and two circular holes in the handle gave her the option to flip her grip so she was holding it backwards.

He watched with a calculating eye as Lynae twirled in the sky, desperately firing off shot after shot as Rai floated around like a graceful ballerina, revolver held up in her left hand, her elbow ready to unbend and arm ready to aim at the hawk faunus. Now that he looked closer, he thought he saw another weapon hooked to Rai's belt, but he couldn't tell what it was from this far.

Rai fired her revolver twice at Lynae, one intercepting a sniper round heading straight for her head and the other slamming into the faunus' stomach. She flipped the mini-sickle in her hand, rearing her arm back and throwing the blade at Lynae. Mercury felt some satisfaction as, while Lynae just barely dodged it, the blade managed to slice off the blue dipped ends of her hair. Small victories.

But still, Rai simply being here made him wonder if she was who she said she was, and he read enough people to know anger when he saw it. The way Rai moved, she was pissed. It was personal. So pissed that she willingly chucked her weapon down a hill just to try and get a good hit on Lynae.

A crunch in the grass behind him caused him to let instinct take over, and he whirled around, grabbing the intruder and spinning them back around to pin them to the tree he was hiding behind. Vambrace to the neck, free hand squeezing the wrist that held a weapon. A familiar weapon.

Then, in surprise, he registered the eyes staring back at him, a cat-like shape to them with a gold-amber color that was a lot friendlier than Cinder's. Blake.

He eased up, releasing the wrist holding Gambol Shroud and removing his forearm from her neck. He stepped back, giving her space, and she rubbed absently at the slight indentation in her neck from his vambrace and cocked a brow at him.

"Jumpy?"

"What are you doing here?" Mercury hissed just as quietly, wary of the two women fighting in the clearing ahead.

"It was a group decision that I see what scared you off so fast," Blake said calmly, letting her muscles relax and her form go limp as she leant against the tree. "Emerald insisted Ruby stay, and out of everyone… I understand you better than them, second to Ruby and Emerald. So, who were you tailing, and who are they fighting?"

Mercury felt himself releasing a breath, begrudgingly relieved that the group sent Blake and not someone like Weiss or Yang. Ruby's words about her caring echoed in his mind, and Blake's silent approval of him was more comforting than he'd openly admit.

"Ruby tell you about the assassins?"

Blake blinked. "Told Yang, but she was vague. Don't tell me…"

Mercury directed her to the clearing, nodding his head towards the fight. "Lynae's been watching. I was hoping to chase her off, but…"

"Is that… Rai Panther?" Blake asked confusedly, the woman in question having somehow retrieved her blade that Mercury believed to be lost after being chucked down the hill. She and Lynae were both on the ground, trading blows with rigorous speed. "And Lynae… Lynae Erin."

"You know her?"

"In… In passing," Blake faltered, and Mercury saw her hidden ears twitch before she could stop it. The faunus darted her eyes up to him, and he couldn't hide the slight smirk he had from her unconscious action. "Oh. I guess I should have expected you knew."

Mercury frowned, deciding to be honest. "You're not upset? I know about the White Fang too."

Blake winced at that. "Well, I can't say I'm thrilled, but… while you're too damn observant for your own good, you've given me reason to trust you," Blake replied sincerely. "And I don't exactly trust easy."

"Oh." The idea of people trusting him despite his grey colored morality was jarring every time he heard it, and with Blake it was the most surprising. He shook his head free of that thought. "So how do you really know Lynae?"

"She joined the White Fang a year or two ago. She… liked our leader's principals, and because she matched his ruthlessness, she ascended the ranks quick. I– I heard that she worked with human assassins before too… but normally her partnerships don't last long." Blake bit her lip, staring out at the two fighting women. "And you? How do you know her?"

Mercury really didn't want to say, but Blake was good at sniffing out bullshit. He supposed her background helped, and now that he thought about it, he guessed that's why Blake trusted him in the first place. She realized Ruby was becoming something for him before he did, before he accepted it.

_::Remember, Blake cares about you, Mercury. And the people who truly care will accept you for who you are… I did::_

The sudden appearance of Ruby's voice was comforting, and it helped quiet the silent judgement he could feel from Marcus in the back of his mind. And her advice was helpful.

"She had partnerships," was all Mercury said, eyes steady, calm. Blake's frown deepened, eyes narrowing.

"And does Ruby know of this?" She asked carefully.

"I told her everything, and then some. The day of the breach."

The suspicious look washed away then, Blake's silent analysis of him going from neutral to approving, almost like a mother proud of her son. It made him feel weird, even weirder when she placed a hand on his arm.

"Thank you for telling me," She said with a slight smile. "I'm glad you two are sharing everything."

"…Yeah." Mercury felt oddly small, and cleared his throat before locking onto Lynae's form. "So how exactly do we handle this?"

Blake had an odd little smile on her face that he didn't want to look too closely at, and she unsheathed her katana. "Well, while it's weird that Rai is out there, she's a student and Lynae's an enemy. Let's help."

"Right." All of it was making his head pound. The position he was in was so delicate, invisible lines connecting him to people on both sides, and he felt like he was far beyond simply getting those lines tangled. And he just kept on tugging on the lines, making the knot tighter and tighter. Not good.

But right now, despite his real reasons behind jumping in to help fight Lynae, he could easily blame it on keeping up appearances. Blake was here, he couldn't walk away, couldn't isolate and eliminate with her there. _Yeah,_ he thought sarcastically. _Like Cinder would believe that sort of bs at this point._

His mind was made up though, and pissing off Lynae was just too tempting to resist, and he shared a look with Blake before jumping out into the fray. A swing Rai was about to block was intercepted by his steel boot, and not a moment after he landed with Lynae's glaive pushing against his heel, Blake came stalking out, using shadow clones to boost herself forward and slashed at Lynae's fragile aura with her sword and sheath. He watched as a green shimmer spluttered over Lynae, warning her that her aura levels were low.

Lynae was breathing heavy, electric blue eyes suddenly locked on Mercury with the intensity of a fire blast from Cinder. Rai was behind him, and he could feel the surprise and tension within her, but she was silent, calculating. Blake stood by his side.

"Three against one hardly seems fair," Lynae breathed after a moment, scowling.

Rai barged between Mercury and Blake, sneering. "Then I suggest you leave it alone."

He thought he heard a double meaning within the statement, and a glance at Blake told him she thought the same. This was the second time he witnessed Rai not bubbly and happy, the first being when her team showed up. It made him think it was an act, fake.

Lynae took the hint, the anger dampened just a bit with uncertainty, before the spark was back and Lynae smirked, curtsying without even addressing him or Blake. Her eyes stayed trained on Rai's.

"Very well. _Adio, doamna mea._ "

Whatever that translated to, Rai raised her revolver in rage and fired, only for Lynae to dodge and take a running start down the hill, flapping her wings and taking off.

"What are you two doing here?" The fan wielding girl questioned with a biting edge to her tone as she whirled around to face them.

Mercury arched a brow with a half-frown of annoyance, but Blake cut in quick, jutting her hip out and cocking her head. "We could ask you the same question. On top of that, why the animosity?"

Rai rubbed her forehead roughly before shifting her weapons back to their fan forms, flicking them closed, and then securing them on her belt. "Apologies… my stress is not something you two should suffer from." Her tone changed quick, now to her calm, regal voice. "I was simply out here when that faunus showed up. She attacked, I responded."

Mercury narrowed his eyes. "That looked like more than just a small clash. And why would you be out in the woods when the fairground is a stone's throw away?"

"Not to mention Ly— that woman." Blake stopped herself to continue playing the charade she and Mercury had started. "Addressed you specifically in a different language, presumably so we couldn't understand it, and you said to leave 'it' alone. What is 'it' referring to?"

He felt himself smirking. Blake was proving to be a good tag team for interrogations.

Beyond the slight sigh in aggravation that she tried to cover up, Rai held a strong poker face. He could see the resignation in her eyes however, leading him to believe that she was actually going to tell them the truth. "I am well aware that you both know who that woman is, and how she is a very prominent threat to Ruby Rose at this moment." Mercury clenched his fist unconsciously, Rai's eyes darting to the movement before moving away within a second. "Professor Ozpin wished for someone inconspicuous to keep a watchful eye, and I agreed. And before you ask, yes, Ruby is aware that I'm acting as a sort of guardian to her currently."

Mercury frowned. "And what Lynae said?"

"None of your concern." Panther stubbornly crossed her arms and narrowed her eyes.

"It would be better if we knew all the information," Blake interjected logically, cupping her elbows. "After all, we're around more than you to watch Ruby's back."

"And if it were important to that, I would share it," Rai bit back. "Listen, Lynae is a pest, and she enjoys taunting. That was just another taunt. Now if you'll excuse me, I have to report to Ozpin that she was on the fairgrounds."

"Hold on," Mercury said, worry suddenly building up. "Have you spotted Lynae anywhere else near Ruby?"

Her eyes softened a small bit, but the hardened edge was still prominent. Her voice became softer too, as if to reassure him. "No, this is the first I've seen her remotely near Ruby. And by how we chased her out, she'll probably be scared off for the time being."

"Well, thank you for sharing what you know," Blake spoke up before her gaze turned cautious. "But I'm asking Professor Ozpin about this just to make sure you're telling the truth."

"Go ahead, I have no need to hide that." Rai shrugged before turning on her heel, seeming to be in a hurry to leave. "Try not to spread it around though, we don't need panic throughout the school about an assassin that's still off her leash running around."

They both watched her leave with narrowed eyes, not speaking until Rai's form disappeared altogether.

"She was acting strange," Blake observed with a slight downturn of her lips. "She's normally so friendly, but just then she was snappish and brusque."

"I noticed that too, more than once," Mercury agreed. "Though last time I talked to her, she only got snippy when her team showed up. It's weird…"

"Yeah…" Blake trailed off before a thought came to her, eyes widening exponentially before she turned to him. "Mercury, that woman at the CCT managed to sneak onto school grounds undetected. If this crime network has assassins, splinter groups, and thieves, who's to say they don't have double agents?"

That thought hit way too close to the mark for his liking, and Mercury felt his heart stop beating for a second before realizing she wasn't referring to him, but to Rai. Still, he tried to hide his discomfort. "What are you saying?"

"Well, if the White Fang is in joint collaboration with this leader, and this leader has been planning for the better part of a year or even more considering I left the Fang a year ago and we didn't work with humans then… then they had a lot of time to plant people in places they would believe beneficial." Blake stared off past him, her finger pointed up as she shook her hand back and forth with her rapidly forming thought. "I know Rai is a student, but then again, her team from what I heard was… oddly formed. Rai herself helped Shade's Headmaster in picking her teammates, so she might have manipulated the picks in her faction's — if it's her faction — favor."

Mercury blinked. _Okay, not only is it weird how Blake almost thinks like Cinder in that regard, but it's slightly terrifying that she basically guessed correctly on the double agent thing. She accused the wrong team… but still. And also, holy shit, how was he going to respond to that?_

"Dunno… maybe bring it up with Ozpin?"

Immediately, he mentally facepalmed. _Wow, just suggest starting an investigation solely based on uncovering infiltrators like you, nice going idiot. Why don't you go further than that, tell Ozpin to just look into your team first._

He could hear Marcus cackling at him. Then he heard Ruby chime in again, soothing him.

_::Calm, Mercury. Blake trusts you::_

…was he going insane or something?

Blake's expression told him she liked his comment much more than he himself did. "You read my mind. I don't want to hold this off so I'll head to his office now. Want to tag along?"

"Nah… I think I'll go check something else out first," Mercury replied, staring after the route Rai took. She shouldn't be far… "I'm gonna go see if she actually is telling the Professor about this."

"Good idea." Blake nodded, smirking slightly as she jabbed her elbow gently into his abdomen. "Kuros makes a pretty good team, huh?"

It took him a moment to realize what she meant, and he felt himself chuckling a bit, unable to resist saying, "Yeah… _Kuros_ to us."

The look of disappointment on Blake's face was so worth it.


End file.
